Catalog No.: 323

Diameter 19cm, Height 15cm

Starting Bid: RMB 12,000

The body has repairs. The brush pot has a straight mouth, a slightly constricted waist, and a well-formed jade bi-shaped base; the body is firm and fine. The outer wall features gold painting on a sprinkled blue ground. One side, within a square cartouche, depicts Su Dongpo's Night Excursion to Red Cliff. In the scene, the moon is bright and stars are sparse, with autumn trees by a cold river; Su Shi, Foyin, and Huang Luzhi are boating on the river, discussing philosophy, enjoying tea, and playing chess. The other side is fully inscribed with Su Shi's "Later Ode to the Red Cliff" in gilt regular script. The overall layout is rigorous, the calligraphy is elegant, and the line spacing is appropriate. "Later Ode to the Red Cliff" is a prose piece written by the famous Northern Song dynasty literatus Su Shi during his exile to Huangzhou, and together with "Former Ode to the Red Cliff", they are known as sister pieces and are widely circulated. During the Kangxi period, civil governance was emphasized, and the imperial examination system flourished. With the increase in the number of literati, high-quality scholar's articles related to reading also became increasingly popular at this time. Among them, the most distinctive were porcelain brush pots, which were not only elegant objects for display on a scholar's desk but also a medium reflecting the spiritual world of the literati. They were not only diverse in types but also unrestricted in decoration, making them the most elegant playthings of the Kangxi reign. Among Kangxi porcelain brush pots, those inscribed with famous essays and paired with illustrative scenes as decorative patterns were the most distinctive. Such a "Later Ode to the Red Cliff" brush pot, with its novel decoration, rich scholarly charm, and excellent quality, possesses high collection and research value.
Sprinkled blue glaze, also known as "snowflake blue" or "lapis lazuli blue," is a special variety from the Xuande period. Its manufacturing process involves dipping a bamboo tube into blue glaze liquid and blowing it onto an already fired porcelain body, then firing it again. The light-colored specks resemble falling snowflakes subtly revealed within the blue glaze. After entering the Qing dynasty, it was often decorated with gilt patterns. During the Kangxi period, sprinkled blue glaze was most commonly seen on bowls, plates, and brush pots. Note: Has repairs.