A RARE INSCRIBED BAMBOO 'MAGNOLIA' WRISTREST BY ZHAO ZHICHEN AND GU XIMEI, INSCRIBED BY WU HUFAN
QING DYNASTY, JIAQING PERIOD
Length 29.2 cm. (11 ¹⁄₂ in.)
Of arched rectangular form, the top carved with magnolia blooms borne on long leafy stems, signed Ximei Jushi (Gu Ximei, 1763-cira 1837) on the right and Cinian Zhi (Zhao Zhichen, 1781-1852) on the left, the reverse decorated with a scholar against a background of cloud scrolls, further incised with an inscription reading Chengcha tu (‘Riding a log raft’) and Ximou Luo hua (‘Painted by Gu Ximei), the lower left corner with a square collector’s seal reading Wu Hufan cang (Wu Hufan, 1894-1968).

Another closerly related bamboo wristrest by Zhao Zhichen in the Shanghai Museum is illustrated in Literati Spirit: Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, Shanghai, 2001, pl. 83. The current wristrest was in the collection and inscribed by the artist Wu Hufan (1894-1968), a prolific collector of classical paintings and literati works of art. Many of his paintings have the subject matter of bamboo.

Formerly in the collection of Wu Hufan (1894-1968);
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Important Chinese Art, 3 April 2018, Lot 3698.