Until 1st May, 2026
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A BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN ‘RED CLIFFS’ BRUSH POT, KANGXI STYLE
Lot 1016 - AK0126
China. Well potted with gently waisted sides, finely painted in shades of cobalt blue with a scene with the poet Su Shi and companions seated at a table enjoying wine with an attendant standing by working a fly whisp under the canopy of a sampan as an oarsman at the stern poles the water while conversing with a young lady. The other side painted with Su Shi’s Former Ode on the Red Cliffs.
Provenance: A noted Irish-Czech private collection. Galerie Zacke, 14 May 2015, Vienna, lot 204 (sold for EUR 22,752 including buyer’s premium). A private collection in Sweden, acquired from the above.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and expected firing irregularities. Light scratches and few shallow losses to unglazed base.
Weight: 2,664 g
Dimensions: Height 15.6 cm, Diameter 19.5 cm
The brushpot illustrates the text from the famous rhapsody Former Ode on the Red Cliffs (qian chibi fu), composed by the celebrated Northern Song poet Su Shi (1037-1096) to commemorate his boating excursions with friends to the Red Cliff (Chibi) in Hubei province during his political exile. It describes the poet and friends riding on a river beneath the purported site of an important battle in 208 AD, between the forces of Northern General Cao Cao and Liu Bei, scion of the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), who dreamt of reuniting China under a reinvigorated Han. Having himself been ousted from political life, Cao’s success at the time reminds him of the short-lived nature of great careers and the transience of life.
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