height: 14.7 cm

The cylindrical body and base is taken from a single section of bamboo that is patinated to a deep russet brown; it is carved in low relief, with the Immortal Liu Haichan. Once Grand Councillor to the short-lived Emperor, Liu Shouguang (in 911), Liu Haichan received a visit from a Daoist who introduced him to the secrets of Inner Alchemy, and gave warning of the precarious nature of his position. The adept took heed, left behind his riches and title, and became a hermit.

He is depicted seated on the ground and leaning forward – dressed in loose fitting trousers, and with his top falling off the shoulders, exposing his chest. He leans on a broomstick, looking down intensely at his companion – a three-legged toad – and holds a coin in one hand (symbolic of his meeting with the Daoist augur). Liu Haichan (or Hai) means ‘Master Sea Toad’, and this creature is one of the Immortal’s standard iconographical elements. The other side of the brushpot is incised with an inscription in two columns, signed and dated by the artist.

Wu Zhifan was from Jiading, near Shanghai, and lived for a while in Nanxiang before settling in Tianjin. He is considered one of the great bamboo and wood carvers – best known for his figure carving in low relief on a distinctive plain ground – and also renowned for his figure and bird-and-flower paintings.

similar example
‘Arts from the Scholar’s Studio’, The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, 1986 – colour plate 35.