Lot 297. A rare blue and white 'Virtuous Officials' brushpot, Kangxi mark and period. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Unsold. Photo: Sotheby's.

of cylindrical form, the exterior finely inscribed with the text of shengzhu de xianchen song 'Ode to the finding of Virtuous Officials by the Sage Ruler' in regular script, with a seal mark in copper-red, reading Xichao Chuan'gu, 'The Court of Kangxi transmitting Antiquity', the slightly concave  unglazed base centered with a recessed circle enclosing a six-character mark in underglaze blue. Diameter 7 7/8  in., 20 cm

Provenance: Berwald Oriental Art, London, 2000.

Notes: The inscription on the present lot was composed during the Han dynasty by Wang Bao for Emperor Xuan. It is in essence an inspirational poem instructing a sage ruler on the correct means to obtain the services of virtuous officials. 

The Kangxi emperor looked to Chinese antiquity to gain legitimization for his reign, and to gain support from the Han intellectual elite, many of whom remained loyal to the Ming dynasty. He shrewdly cultivated their support by modeling his rule after that of the traditional Confucian monarch, and chose classical texts and literary writings as decoration on ceramics in a bid to win them over. Texts, such as the one inscribed on the present lot, and others, for example Ode to the Red Cliff by Song dynasty poet Su Shi and the poem Returning to Live in the Country by Tao Yuanming were painted on porcelain pieces. 

The use of classical texts as a means to consolidate power is further reinforced by the copper-red seal, Xichao Chuan'gu,creating the impression that the Kangxi emperor was part of a continuous line reaching far into antiquity.

A brushpot with the same inscription in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing is illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (III), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong 2000, pl. 189.  Another similar brushpot in the Shanghai Museum, is illustrated in Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 19, and another was included in A Loan Exhibition of Chinese Art of the Early Periods, Singapore Art Society, British Council Centre, Singapore, 1953, cat. no. 94. 

Kangxi period brushpots with the same inscription and seal mark, have sold in our Hong Kong rooms. One example sold on 28th November 1978, lot 269, was included in the Kau Chi Society exhibition Ancient Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 112, and was sold again on 10th April 2006, lot 1676. Other Kangxi mark and period brushpots with the same inscription and seals were sold on 8th November 1982, lot 170, and 2nd May 2000, lot 577. 

Sotheby's, Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016, 10:00 AM