of slightly waisted cylindrical form, painted to one side with a colorful magpie perching atop a twisting scholar's rock surrounded by large orbs of chrysanthemum blooms in red, blue, and black amid leaves, grasses, bamboo, and pines in assorted greens, a short poetic inscription floats above a green rock at a break in the vegetal composition, the base centered with a recessed medallion, coll. no. 1575.

The Jie Rui Tang Collection.

Provenance: Marchant, London, 2006.

Note: The poem inscribed on the brushpot reveals its relationship to the image only to the erudite observer. It reads:

With the zun wine vessel in front of us under the moon we often meet, not venturing to the eastern hedge in search of fallen blossoms.
[Signed] Zai Mo

Rather than overtly describing chrysanthemums, the poet uses the term dong ling ('eastern hedge'), a reference to Tao Yuanming's (ca. 365-421) fifth poem titled 'Drinking Wine' in which he describes picking chrysanthemums in his eastern hedge. Magpie and chrysanthemum are a rebus wishing for the happiness of the entire family. The poem in turn describes the achievement of this contentment through moonlit rendezvous. The poem is accompanied by seals reading Jizhaotang, Shan xiao, and Mushiju.