A CARVED BAMBOO 'FIGURES AND LANDSCAPE' BRUSHPOT, BITONG 17th centuryA CARVED BAMBOO 'FIGURES AND LANDSCAPE' BRUSHPOT, BITONG17th century Of cylindrical form supported on three short bracket feet, deeply and finely carved in a continuous scene with the General Guo Ziyi greeted by local officials, with attendants carrying books and acolytes leaving the brewing tea unattended, the bamboo with a warm honey-brown tone. 16cm (6 1/4in) high.十七世紀 竹雕迎駕圖筆筒Although unsigned, the quality of the workmanship on this superbly carved brushpot closely relates to that on brushpots by known carvers active in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty. The detailed scene and figures depicted is carved with the uttermost naturalistic sensitivity. The natural contours of the mountainous landscape, skillfully cut out in varying levels of relief, rank it alongside famous works in museum and private collections.For bamboo brushpots of similar quality, with closely-related style of composition, see a brushpot signed by Gu Yu depicted with the same scene, exhibited in the Shanghai Museum of Bamboo Carvings, illustrated in The Fine Art Collection of Jiading Bamboo Carving of Ming and Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2018, pp.118-119; also see a bamboo brushpot signed by Gu Yu from the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, pl.39.筆筒圓口，下乘三矮足，外壁通景雕刻郭子儀返鄉圖，整體運用了陷地高浮雕兼陰刻技法，描繪了大唐汾陽王郭子儀返鄉受到地方官員、鄉村隱士及家人恭迎的情景。畫面中山巒重叠，壑深林密，溪水蜿蜒，構圖緊凑，色澤深渾含蓄，刻工圓潤平滑。工匠一般會把當時流行稿樣雕刻於作品上，因此這些采用了繪畫佈局的竹雕筆筒通常構圖完整。參考一件2018年5月18日至6月17日展覽於上海嘉定竹刻博物館的顧鈺款迎駕圖筆筒，見《竹緣匠心：明清嘉定竹刻精品》，上海，2018年，頁118-119。另參考一件清宮舊藏描繪同樣題材顧鈺款筆筒，雖然該畫與此拍品構圖不完全相同，但後者仍見畫意，收編於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：竹木牙角雕刻》，上海，2002年，圖版39。