17th century Of compressed cylindrical form, the brushpot supported by three short feet, the exterior well carved in multiple levels of relief with a continuous figural landscape depicting Su Shi and his friends visiting the Red Cliff, the figures portrayed on a raft, Sushi, Monk Foyin and Huang Tingjian seated around a square table in the centre of the deck, two at the back steering the vessel towards the Red Cliff, the riverscape enhanced with a mountainous background and overhanging pine trees issuing from the cliffs, the patina of a honey-brown colour. 13.9cm (5 1/2in) high.Footnotes十七世紀 竹雕赤壁夜遊圖筆筒 Su Shi (1032-1101) and his friends gathered regularly and visited the Red Cliff twice after he was relegated to Huangzhou in 1084. His two odes recorded the two visits to the Red Cliff and have been illustrated in many types of Chinese decorative art. This theme was particularly popula on bamboo brushpots since the late Ming Dynasty. Compare with a closely related 'Ode to the Red Cliff' bamboo brushpot in the Shanghai Museum, which is illustrated in Literati Spirit: Art of Chinese Bamboo Carving, Shanghai, 2001, p.46, pl.13. 取扁竹一節，下承三短足，一面減地浮雕東坡遊赤壁圖，一面留白。東坡帶高冠坐於船頭，方桌一側佛印拍板，黃庭堅撫桌前視，山石一角露出童子半身，船尾兩位艄公緊握尾槳，船下水波濤濤，崖上古松盤亙，皮色如蜜。 蘇東坡貶黃州後長於與當地的文士及隨他而來門人相聚，共同狩獵、出遊、飲酒、作詩酬唱，留下大量詩篇。最著名者有前後《赤壁賦》，為後世裝飾常見題材。可比較一件上海博物館藏明末清初竹雕赤壁夜遊圖筆筒，見《竹鏤文心：竹刻珍品特輯》，上海，2001年，頁46，圖版13。