A BAMBOO ‘CRAB’ BRUSHPOT, BITONG, BY LIU SONGSEN, DATED 1756

Published:
Galerie Asboth, Tusche und Weihrauch, page 22, no. 37.

China. Of cylindrical form, carved in low relief, a crab sits among reeds and stones next to an eight-column inscription which includes a poem, the artist Liu Songsen’s signature, and a date, the year of Bingzi.


Inscriptions:
A unique folk poem by the 13th century poet Ma Zhiyuan, depicting the sequestered life of a poet. It says, ‘Wine and fish I have freshly bought, now I watch the clouds above the mountains and write poetry in the moonlight. I am an idle man and have no ability to serve the state and govern. Liu Songsen carved in […] the Year of Bingzi (corresponding to 1756).’


Provenance:
Ute Asboth, Galerie Asboth, Vienna, May 2000. Collection of Maria and Johannes Nickl, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. The base with an old label, ‘1P’. A copy of an expertise written and signed by Ute Asboth, with a stamp from Galerie Asboth, confirming the dating above, accompanies this lot. Ute Asboth (c. 1927-2018), owner of Galerie Asboth, began her career in the Asian art trade at Galerie Zacke in the early 1980s before eventually founding Galerie Asboth in Vienna, Austria. The gallery specialized in East Asian art and published extensively. Several noted exhibitions were curated in close cooperation with Luigi Bandini from Eskenazi gallery in London, United Kingdom. Some pieces from Ute Asboth’s private collection reside now in the Museum of Ethnology, Vienna (today the Weltmuseum). Maria (1926-2022) and Johannes Nickl (d. 2020) lived in Vienna, Austria, and were ardent collectors of Asian, Buddhist, and Egyptian works of art. They were highly active in Vienna’s tightknit Asian art trade and assembled most of their collection during the 1980s and 1990s, frequently buying from Galerie Zacke and later Galerie Asboth. The couple were also noted museum patrons and their names are still found on the Ehrentafel (‘Roll of Honor’) of the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (Museum of Fine Arts Vienna) today.

Condition:
Very good condition with minor old wear and expected age cracks, traces of use, few tiny nicks to edges.

Weight: 190.7 g
Dimensions: Height 12.9 cm


The present brushpot is carved with a poem by Ma Zhiyuan
(c. 1250-1321), a poet and playwright who lived during the Yuan dynasty. Famous for popularizing a lyrical style known as sanqu, his poems were collected in the book Dongli Yuefu which includes 104 of his sanqu. His most famous poem is Autumn Thoughts.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 18 March 2008, lot 39
Price: USD 49,000 or approx.
EUR 65,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large bamboo brushpot (bitong), Qing dynasty, 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the related motif.




劉松森款竹雕詩文筆筒


中國。圓柱體筆筒，淺浮雕蟹圖詩文。


出版
:
Galerie Asboth，Tusche und Weihrauch，第 22頁，圖 37。


銘文
:
酒旋沽，魚新買，滿眼雲山畫圖開。清風明月還詩債。本是個懶散人，又無甚經濟才，歸去來。丙子春劉松森製於?師


來源：
Ute Asboth，維也納Asboth藝廊，約2000年；Maria與Johannes Nickl收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族保存至今。底部有一舊標籤 ‘1P’。隨附一份由Ute Asboth出具的鑒定書複印件，上還可見 Asboth藝廊印章，確認斷代。Ute Asboth (約1927-2018年) 於 1980 年代初在 Zacke藝廊開始了她在亞洲藝術貿易的職業生涯，之後在奧地利維也納創立了 Asboth藝廊。該藝廊專門從事東亞藝術並廣泛出版，她與英國倫敦 Eskenazi 畫廊的 Luigi Bandini 密切合作，並策劃了幾個著名的展覽。Ute Asboth 的一些私人收藏品現在收藏在維也納民族學博物館（現為世界博物館）。

品相：
狀況極好，有輕微磨損和老化裂縫，使用痕跡，邊緣有一些微小的劃痕。

重量：190.7 克
尺寸：高12.9 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2008年3月18日，lot 39
價格：USD 49,000（相當於今日
EUR 65,000
）
描述：十九世紀清代竹雕筆筒
專家評論：比較相近的主題。