Although unsigned, the quality of the workmanship on this superbly carved brushpot closely relates to that on brushpots by known carvers active in the early Qing dynasty. The detailed scene depicting twenty-four sages 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 another unsigned brushpot depicting hunters in a pine forest, from the Qing Court Collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carving, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 34. See also one from the Mary and George Bloch collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 5, and another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th April, 1999, lot 312, now in the collection of Robert H. Blumenfield.