Lot 3414. A finely painted Transitional blue and white brush pot, Shunzhi period (1644-1661); 8 5/8 in. (22 cm.) high. Estimate HKD 1,000,000 - HKD 1,500,000. Price realised HKD 1,120,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The cylindrical brush pot is lively painted with a hunting scene, depicting four equestrian Manchu huntsman in a continuous landscape; one having fallen from his horse still holding the reins with the arrows scattered around him from his empty quiver; one trying to catch a falling bird shot with an arrow; and one chasing a deer on horseback; all set amongst trees, mountains and clouds, below a band of incised classic scroll around the rim.

Provenance: Spinks & Sons Ltd., London, 1973
Formerly in the collection of Adolph Mueller II
The Oriental Art Gallery Ltd., London, 1994.

Note: Compare to a baluster vase of similar subject, included in the Princesseshof Museum exhibition Chinese Porcelain: The Transitional Period, 1620 - 1683, A Selection from the Michael Butler Collection, see Catalogue, Leewaarden, 1986, p. 70, no. 80; and included again in the exhibition, Seventeenth Century Chinese Porcelain from the Butler Family Collection, and illustrated in the Catalogue, Alexandria, 1990, p. 78, no. 37.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Including The Su Zhu An Collection of Inkstones), Hong Kong, 27 November 2013