A very rare carved biscuit porcelain 'Eight Horses of Muwang' brushpot, bitong


Signed Liang , 19th centuryOf cylindrical form naturalistically modelled imitating bamboo with pin-prick marks on the rim, intricately and deftly carved around the body in various levels of relief with a continuous scene of eight horses and five grooms within a mountainous riverscape with rocky outcrops, pine trees and finely incised waterfalls, wood stand. 16cm (6 1/4in) high (2).
|十九世紀 素胎白瓷浴馬圖筆筒「梁」篆書模款Provenance: Kaynes-Klitz collection, no.4 (label)An English private collection來源：Kaynes-Klitz收藏，編號4（標籤）英國私人收藏Michael J. Kaynes was an official in the Hong Kong government from 1962. He quickly formed a good collection of snuff bottles and Chinese porcelain of the early Republic period. With Hugh Moss, he established the Chinese Snuff Bottle Society in Hong Kong, which published a magazine. A group of his ceramics was selected by Anthony Evans for inclusion in an exhibition of 20th century porcelain in The Hague, Van Keizerrijk tot Volksrepubliek, 1986. The elaborate yet delicate landscape carving style, as exemplified by the present brushpot, suggests it was carved by a contemporary of one of the great craftsmen of the time, such as Chen Guozhi 陳國治 (circa 1820-1860). Chen was a native of Qimen, Anhui province, and was renowned for his ability to carve designs on porcelain with the intricacy and elegance of those found on paintings. Compare with a related biscuit porcelain relief-carved brushpot of similar style, Daoguang seal mark and of the period, which was sold at Bonhams London, 6 November 2014, lot 192. See also a related ivory brushpot, carved with a similar design, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29-30 November 2018, lot 522, indicating that like the present lot, it probably depicted a design after the same woodblock print.