Estimated at £20,000-40,000, the 5.9in (12.4cm) high cylindrical pot from the Qianlong or Jiaqing period was finely carved with a scene of the 3rd century calligrapher Wang Xizhi contemplating geese in a pond. It appears to be part of a small group of slender lacquer brush pots featuring this subject with the figures carved in high relief within a detailed landscape.
The subject was a favourite of the Qianlong emperor and appears on other works of art including a seemingly identical lacquer brush pot which can be found in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
The example at Halls was also similar to a brush pot offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2014 which was unsold against an estimate of 2m-3m HKD (£155,180-232,775).
The Sotheby’s catalogue had described the carving on the brush pot as “swift and intricate, giving the scene and the figures a sense of intimation, animation and dynamism”. The same could be said for the piece in Shrewsbury.
The buyer’s premium at Halls was 20%.
