Blue and White Shan Shui Brush Pot

Set alongside the four treasures of the study - the calligraphy brush, ink, paper, and inkstone - a brush pot, or bitong, was an essential fixture of the scholars' desk. This porcelain brush pot beautifully exemplifies this traditional form with the classical artistry of Chinese blue-and-white ceramics. Brushed atop a cool white field is an idyllic mountainside village, a form of landscape painting known as shan shui. Robed villagers take in the sun as some go on strolls and others go fishing. Among the trees are towering pagodas and quaint houses overlooking a beautiful lake view.