Each brush pot of square section, finely potted with reticulated sides forming a geometric honeycomb lattice, interspersed with applied characters. The borders are decorated with blossoms reserved on an apple-green ground.
A pair of famille-verte biscuit-glazed openwork brush pots, ‘bitong’
Description
Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)
Dimensions: 13 cm high, 9.2 cm wide
Provenance:
The collection of Basil Ionides and Nellie Ionides
Thence by descent to Lady Camilla Panufnik
Each brush pot of square section, finely potted with reticulated sides forming a geometric honeycomb lattice, interspersed with applied characters. The borders are decorated with blossoms reserved on an apple-green ground.
Brush pots of this type demonstrate considerable technical skill, as the openwork carving required precise control during firing. Such pieces were intended for the scholar’s desk and combine functionality with decorative refinement.
Compare related examples from the Ionides Collection, Christie’s London, 17 June 2003, lot 152-154 and the Marsh Collection, Bonhams London, 3 November 2022, lot 6. Please also compare a similar brush container in the Percival David Collection at the British Museum, London, PDF.819.
