
Juliette Hammer
Sale Coordinator
This auction has ended. View lot details


Sold for £76,600 inc. premium
Our Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialist
Sale Coordinator

Specialist

Specialist, Chinese Works of Art

Head of Chinese and Asian Art, London
十七世紀 竹雕和合二仙筆筒
This piece integrates techniques such as high and low relief carving, as well as openwork. The knife work is sharp and precise, with strong, well-defined lines. The composition is dynamic and richly detailed, with a balanced interplay of dense and sparse elements, ranging from roughly hewn rocks to meticulously rendered pine needles. The two figures depicted in the present lot are the Hehe Erxian (和合二仙), also known as the 'Two Immortals of Harmony and Union,' traditionally associated with a long and blissful marriage. These Daoist Immortals trace their origins to the Tang dynasty (618–906) poet-monks, Hanshan (寒山) and Shide (拾得). They were officially canonised as the God of Harmony and Union in the eleventh year of the Yongzheng reign (1733).
See a related bamboo root mountain carving, with figures and rocks similarly carved in high relief, Qing dynasty, illustrated in Literati Spirit: Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, Shanghai, 2012, p.106, no.43. See also a carved bamboo 'Hehe Erxian' group with similarly posed figures, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams London, 7 November 2019, lot 96.