Lot 21. A superb bamboo 'dragon' brushpot, bitong, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 15cm (5 7/8in) high. Estimate HK$ 200,000-300,000. Sold for HK$ 250,000 (€ 29,866). Photo: Bonhams.

Crisply carved on one side with a mountain landscape, featuring a pavilion with two boys playing a musical stone within the Superbly decorated around the exterior with a continuous scene of a large powerful scaly five-clawed dragon, detailed with a snarling, fierce expression, its body and tail half emerging from the crested and tumultuous waves carved in various degrees of relief, with later silver mountings to the rims.

Note: The present lot is exceptionally rare for its rendering in the bamboo medium of the theme inspired by the celebrated Southern Song painting Nine Dragons by the prominent poet, calligrapher and artist Chen Rong (active AD1235-1258), which is now preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accession number 17.1697), and is illustrated by T.Wu, Tales from the Land of Dragons: 1000 Years of Chinese Painting, Boston, 1997, pp.197-201.

The Qianlong emperor recorded his personal admiration for Chen's painting of the Nine Dragons hand scroll by adding an inscription and several imperial seals. Apart from praising Chen Rong's painting, he also ordered a Court painter to produce a copy of the hand scroll. Given the emperor's esteem for the artist as well as the five-clawed dragon as an imperial symbol, it is very likely that the brushpot would have been made for the imperial Court, and possibly for the personal use of the emperor.

The style developed under the Qianlong emperor's direction is recognisable for its opulence combined with precision of knifework. The present brushpot displays a high level of craftsmanship with the sharply precise and vigorous carving of the dragon. A great sense of depth is also emphasized by the varying degrees of carved relief used to depict the forceful rolling waves. It is extremely rare to find a bamboo brushpot of such unrivalled quality.

Indeed, this special genre also exists in different materials of art. For an example of a porcelain brushpot painted with a dragon and inscribed with a poem in sepia enamel, inscribed with a poem signed by Tang Ying (1682-1756), the supervisor of the imperial kiln during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, see P.Y.Lam, ed., Elegant vessels for the lofty pavilion: the Zande Lou gift of porcelain with studio marks, Hong Kong, 1993, pl.14.

BONHAMS. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 4 Jun 2015 10:30 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY