17th century Of cylindrical form, the brushpot resting on three short feet, the exterior well carved in open work and varying levels of relief with a continuous figural garden scene, a scholar with his attendant carrying a qin talking with another scholar, and two ladies talking under a pine tree in front of a young attendant serving weiqi and another attendant carrying a tea set, the patina of dark brown colour. 15.2cm (6 in) high.Footnotes十七世紀 竹雕高士仕女雅集圖筆筒 It is rare to see gentlemen and ladies gathering together in classic Chinese art. The scene probably depicts two couples gathered in a private garden, where the attendants serve qin, weiqi and tea, which suggests a typical private gathering of scholarly couples in the 17th century. 取竹一節，鏤空浮雕高士仕女雅集圖，畫面正中刻畫一高士與一仕女分別同一帶琴童子陪伴的高士及一松下仕女交談，松下仕女身後一童子抱棋盤而侍，山石之後另一童子提茶壺與提樑盒趕來。畫面所刻或為兩對夫妻，男女一起雅集的畫面在中國古代藝術中極少出現。