113. IMPORTANT ET RARE POT À PINCEAUX EN ZITAN XVIIe/XVIIIe siècle A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE ZITAN BRUSHPOT 17th/18th century Finely carved and pierced in high relief as a section of a gnarled tree trunk, enveloped by large lingzhi stems and heads, blossoming prunus branches and bamboo leaves, the lustrous wood a rich warm dark brown colour, with scattered gold speckles, fitted box. 14.5cm (5 3/4in) high (2). 十七/十八世紀 紫檀雕樹樁式筆筒 Provenance: Collection of Dr. Thomas Navratil, Zürich, acquired 1987 from Arts of China, Hong Kong, collection no. 77 Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London Collection of Teddy Hahn (1933-2012), acquired 15 November 1999 from Paul Moss, acquired from his collection Published: Orientations, 1987 (Advertisement The Arts of China Hong Kong) Sydney L. Moss Ltd., Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, London, 1999, no. 40 來源： 蘇黎世Thomas Navratil博士珍藏，於1987年得自香港Arts of China，編號77 倫敦Sydney L. Moss Ltd.藝廊 Teddy Hahn（1933-2012）珍藏，於1999年11月15日得自Paul Moss 現藏家得自上述來源 出版： Orientations，1987年（廣告頁The Arts of China Hong Kong） Sydney L. Moss Ltd.藝廊，《Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art》，倫敦，1999年，編號40 This brushpot is made from the precious and highly esteemed zitan, a timber available exclusively to the master craftsmen in the workshops of the zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshops). With its jade-like silky texture, extremely fine and dense grain, and deep lustre, zitan was the favoured timber of the Ming and Qing courts. Compare a similarly carved zitan sceptre, sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 3335. Compare also with a similarly large and naturalistically carved zitan brushpot from the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 51. In his 1999 catalogue, Paul Moss writes of this piece 'such a tour de force of pierced zitan is most unusual, and one might suspect it from dating from the nineteenth century, or even later, were it not stylistically and in terms of surface and wear convincing; and but for the fact that adequately large pieces of zitan were hardly to be obtained after the 18th century', Sydney L. Moss Ltd., Escape from the Dusty World. Chinese Paintings and Literati Works of Art, London, 1999, no. 40.