A FINELY CARVED CHINESE BAMBOO 'EIGHT IMMORTALS' BRUSHPOT, BITONG

A FINELY CARVED CHINESE BAMBOO 'EIGHT IMMORTALS' BRUSHPOT, BITONG
18TH CENTURY

Of cylindrical form, carved in varying levels of relief with a continuous scene depicting the eight Immortals navigating a log raft on a turbulent river after attending the Conference of the Magical Peach, each Immortal is holding their respective attributes to exercise their powers, including Cao Guojiu with his clappers, Lan Caihe with his basket, Lü Dongbin with a sword on his back and Han Xiangzi playing his flute, beneath wind-blown pine trees, and with Shoulao riding a crane in the sky above flanked by his attendants, all within a dense landscape of sheer rockfaces, pine and wutong trees, the rim and base with wood mounts, 17.2cm.

Provenance: from the collection of Dr John William Hawksley Grice OBE (1891–1976) and thence by descent. Formerly on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Grice loan number 70.

The brushpot illustrates the Eight Daoist Immortals as they cross the rough sea after attending the Peach Festival of the Queen Mother of the West. Rather than travelling by clouds, they combined their powers to sail safely past the tempest. The scene is a lesson on how individual strengths and gifts can be used to tackle the same obstacle. Such compositions were especially admired in the Qing dynasty when bamboo carving became a refined vehicle for literati expression. For a related and finally carved brushpot also decorated with the eight Immortals on a raft, see Sotheby’s Hong Kong, the Robert H Blumenfield Collection, 7th April 2015, lot 3008.


十八世紀 竹雕八仙過海筆筒
來源：John William Hawksley Grice 醫生(1891–1976)收藏，之後由家人繼承。本拍品曾於倫敦維多利亞及阿爾伯特博物館展出，編號70。