Lot 324. An inscribed famille-verte brushpot, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722); 13.3 cm, 5 1/4  in. Estimate 50,000 — 70,000 HKD. Lot sold 212,500 HKD. © Sotheby's.

painted with a magpie perched on a prunus tree, inscribed with a poem celebrating the beauty of prunus and with three seal marks.

Provenance:  Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999).

Note: The poetic inscription can be translated as ‘Like a retreat scholar resting in a snowy mountain’. It is a phrase adapted from the poem Yong Mei [Praising the Prunus], composed by the Ming-dynasty poet Gao Qi (1336-1373), who metaphorically allude the blossom with an aloof and honourable intellect in seclude. The inscription is signed Shushi ju (Studio of Bamboo and Rock), a known hallmark associated with a group of porcelain wares from the Kangxi period.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 29 novembr 2018-30 november 2018