This brush pot shows scholars writing, painting, and enjoying nature—activities found in imagery of scholar-officials throughout Chinese art. The scene also recalls famous historical gatherings of learned men such as those in the West Garden, an eleventh-century imperial family residence.
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Artwork Details
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清乾隆 剔紅西園雅集圖筆筒
Title:Brush holder with scholars in a garden
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95)
Date:18th century
Culture:China
Medium:Carved red lacquer
Dimensions:H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm); Diam. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
Classification:Lacquer
Credit Line:Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Accession Number:2015.500.1.49
[ Spink & Son Ltd. , London, until 1982; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1982–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Irving Lacquers," 1998–2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: Painted and Carved," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Excellence and Elegance: Decorative Arts of the Eighteenth-Century Qing Court," August 25–November 25, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: An Introduction," December 4, 2007–May 11, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer," August 6, 2009–February 21, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Introduction to Chinese Lacquer," December 11, 2013–July 6, 2014.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer, 14th to 19th Century," June 15, 2016–October 9, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Children to Immortals: Figural Representations in Chinese Art," August 9, 2018–January 3, 2021.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, p. 109, cat. no. 44.
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