Lot 211
Rare Blue and White ‘Ox Herder’ Brushpot, Transitional Period, 17th Century
Lot 211 Details
Rare Blue and White ‘Ox Herder’ Brushpot, Transitional Period, 17th Century
The cylindrical body rising towards a slightly waisted and flaring rim with an incised floral border below, a similar band of incised waves decorate the base and both borders frame a continuous landscape scene including a young boy riding a bull with arms outstretched holding a branch with a small song bird perched near the tip, a rocky mountain emerges from between the swirling clouds in the background with the whole landscape surrounded by a variety of foliage, all completed in underglaze blue, the smooth base unglazed
height 7.9" — 20 cm., diameter 4.2" — 10.7 cm.
Estimate $12,000-$15,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
The Estate of Dr. David Varadi, Toronto. Acquired from Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, September 3,1974.
Note:
Well painted and a fine example of the period, the pastoral scene illustrated on this brush pot represents the theme of spring, or more specifically Li’chun, “the coming of spring,” a farmers’ holiday. The ox, a traditional symbol of the season, is depicted in its typical form as strong and sturdy. Meanwhile, the young boy is rendered in the form of an ox-driver holding a willow branch, which also serves as a whip. This pairing of the ox and young ox-driver helps to recall the ritual process of “beating the spring ox,” where clay models of an ox were hit with sticks, most likely willow branches, to help stimulate the revival of spring.