A MASSIVE CHINESE ZITAN BRUSHPOT, BITONG QING DYNASTY Carved in relief with a solitary figure sitting on rocks beside pine trees and rockwork, inscribed with the poem Tao Yuan Xing by the Tang dynasty poet Wang Wei, with a signature which reads Ding Jing, 5.2kg, 31.5cm across. Provenance: formerly the collection of Ernestine de Miramont. Ding Jing (1695-1765) was a notable Chinese calligrapher and seal artist. Native of Zhejiang, Ding founded the Zhejiang school of seal carving with his students. He was a close associate of Luo Ping, one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, the group of eight Chinese painters famous for their individualistic and unorthodox style in the eighteenth century. The brushpot was inspired by the painting `Portrait of Ding Jing` by Luo Ping, Luo Pin hui Ding Jing xiang zhou, c.1762 currently in Zhejiang Provincial Museum.