A RARE AND HEAVY SHISOU SILVER WIRE-INLAID BRONZE BRUSHPOT, BITONG, EARLY QINGChina, 17th-18th century. Of square form with indented corners and supported on four short feet, the sides finely inlaid with silver wire depicting Buddhist lions with brocade balls framed by scrolling vines below the rim and above the feet. The silver wire-inlaid Shisou mark to base.Provenance: British private collection. Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, light scratches, and minuscule nicks.Weight: 952.5 gDimensions: Height 9.9 cmLittle is known about the historic figure Shisou. The earliest reference in the Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian ('Dictionary of Chinese Artists') comes from the Luochuang xiaodu and is presumably from the same source as published in Zhongguo yishujia zhenglue ('Brief Introduction of Chinese Artists). Shisou is listed there only as a late Ming dynasty monk without any further biographical information. A number of vessels and sculptures from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century bear his name, sometimes in combination with a hall name, Jinyu tang ('Hall of Prosperity'). Brush pots with his signature appear to be extremely rare.Expert's note: The brush pot is heavily cast, clearly indicating that it is a piece dating to the 18th century, if not earlier.Literature comparison: Four scholar's objects attributed to Shisou are in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Rose Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p. 64. A closely related vessel of Shisou type in the Clague collection is illustrated by Robert Mowry, where he also discusses the problem of Shisou in China's Renaissance in Bronze, Phoenix Art Museum, 1993, pp.191-193.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related bronze hu vase with a Shisou mark at Sotheby's New York in Chinese Art on 21 March 2015, lot 752, sold for USD 32,500, and another at Sotheby's Hong Kong, in Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Ulrich Hausmann, on 8 October 2014, lot 3361, sold for HKD 106,250 (also compare the marks, see fig. 1).清初罕見石叟四方葵口錯銀銅筆筒 中國,十七至十八世紀。正方形葵口,短足,側面精細地鑲嵌銀線,描繪了佛獅戯珠。底座上鑲有銀絲石叟款。 來源:英國私人收藏 品相:狀況極佳,輕微磨損,輕微划痕和微小刻痕。 重量:952.5 克 尺寸:高 9.9 厘米 拍賣結果比較:一個相似石叟青銅壺,售于紐約蘇富比 Chinese Art 拍場2015年3月21日, lot 752, 售價USD 32,500。另一件售于香港蘇富比Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Ulrich Hausmann拍場2014年10月 8日,lot 3361, 售價HKD 106,250 。