A BAMBOO ‘NIGHT EXCURSION AT THE RED CLIFF’ BRUSH POT, BITONG, BY XU YUJI, JIADING SCHOOL, DATED 1805

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A BAMBOO ‘NIGHT EXCURSION AT THE RED CLIFF’ BRUSH POT, BITONG, BY XU YUJI, JIADING SCHOOL, DATED 1805 Inscriptions: Titled ‘Night Excursion at the Red Cliff’, dated ‘fifth month of the yichou year (corresponding to 1805), and signed ‘Yuji’, with the artist’s seal ‘Xu’. Expert’s note: The present lot is remarkable for the superb grain and thickness of the bamboo, allowing the artist to skillfully bring the figural scene to life utilizing the depth of the wood to create multiple layers and build a three-dimensional effect. This layering represents the mature style of the Jiading school, which developed during the Kangxi period and further evolved during the eighteenth century. China. The cylindrical brush pot is well carved in relief of varying depths featuring subtle undercutting to depict a continuous mountainous landscape, with a group of scholars on a raft emerging from beneath a rocky cliff, shaded by luxuriant pine trees rising along the riverbank. On the opposite side, further scholarly figures cross a bridge spanning the river while engaged in animated conversation. The scene unfolds amid dense vegetation growing among steep, craggy rock formations, their lofty peaks interwoven with drifting clouds. The mouth and foot are bound with hardwood mountings. Dimensions: Height 16.3 cm, Diameter 15.1 cm Xu Yuji, courtesy name Zhaozhou, was a native of Jiading, Shanghai, and a noted master of the Jiading school of bamboo carving. He is listed in is listed in Yu Jianhua (ed.), Zhongguo meishujia ren ming cidian (Dictionary of Chinese Artist Names), Shanghai, 1985, p. 720. Active during the later Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns of the Qing dynasty, he was accomplished in both semi-cursive and regular-script calligraphy, as well as in bamboo carving. The brush pots and paperweights produced by Xu Yuji were often inscribed with calligraphy in the style of Zhao Mengfu. Bamboo carvings by Xu Yuji were included in the special exhibition The Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, held at the Shanghai Museum to mark its 60th anniversary in 2012. The brush pot illustrates the text from the famous rhapsody First Ode to the Red Cliff, composed by the celebrated Northern Song poet, Su Shi (1037-96), to commemorate his boating excursions with friends to the Red Cliff (Chibi) in Hubei province during his political exile. It describes the poet and friends riding on a river beneath the purported site of an important battle in AD 208, between the forces of Northern General Cao Cao and Liu Bei, scion of the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), who dreamt of reuniting China under a reinvigorated Han. Having himself been ousted from political life, Cao’s success at the time reminds him of the short-lived nature of great careers and the transience of life. The Jiading School of bamboo carving alongside the Jinling school was located in Jiangsu Province during the late Ming dynasty. The two schools were known for the highest quality of bamboo carving at that time. By the mid-Qing dynasty, the Jinling school had slowly lost its edge, while Jiading continued on with the heritage of the Three Zhus (Zhu He, Zhu Ying and Zhu Zhizheng) for generation after generation. Around early-Qing, Jiading carvers of bamboo started to combine high and low reliefs of different colors to enhance contrast, as can be seen in the present bitong. This specific skill grew more and more sophisticated over time and the levels of depths in protrusion increased from initially one or two to six different grades. After these improvements, Jiading eventually became the leading region for the very best bamboo carvings. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3019 Price: HKD 500,000 or approx. EUR 71,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, manner of carving, and size (15.9 cm).

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