KANGXI or YONGZHENG c.1700 – 1735. Famille Verte Porcelain
A Kangxi or Yongzheng Famille Verte Erotic Subject Bitong (Brushpot) c.1700-1735. The Stoutly Potted Brushpot is Decorated with a Man Partly Supported by a Table Embracing a Woman with a Screen Behind them. A Female Figure, Partially Hidden, is Watching them from Behind the Screen. The Reverse is Decorated with a a Tree with Berries Growing from a Scholar`s Rock.
SOLD
- Condition
- A large restored crack to the back, the crack extends to the whole length of the brushpot. It has been very well restored.
- Size
- Height : 13 cm (5 inches).
- Provenance
- N/A
- Stock number
- 21735
Photos
Information
Bitong, brushpots are not found in 17th or early 18th century European inventories unlike some other ceramic forms which fore fill a specific Chinese function. Blanc de chine `libation cups`, were for example, were made for drinking wine in China but they were imported in large numbers into the West. There curious forms appealed to Western tastes and were used in European displays or converted with the addition of a gilt bronze handle to become a bonbon dishes. Brushpots on the other hand seem to have been made exclusively for the Chinese domestic market, more specifically for the scholar literati class.
Bitong are an essential part of literati`s desk, what is often referred to as a scholars desk. Other scholarly items for the desk might include a brush-rest, inkstone (for grinding the dry ink) a water pot for the water to add to the inkstone, a brushwasher as well as a table screen. As with the present brushpot the subject matter reflected scholarly themes.