THREE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS
Brush, circa 1910
Brush rest, Qing dynasty
Zitan box, Qing dynasty, 18th century
A spotted bamboo brush of slightly tapering cylindrical form with flat bone ends, apocryphally inscribed on the handle 'On a summer's day in the renshen year' (1632) and 'Fang Yizhi', referring to the scholar-official Fang Yizhi (1611–1671); together with a small hongmu brush-rest of wavy form with six peaks and of three-pronged-star cross section; and a zitan box of rectangular shape with an inset base tongue and grooved into the uprights of the sides that are joined at the mitered corners by exposed dovetails, the upper edge of the sides gently rounded, a sliding cover with a raised central panel and an applied molding to one end conforming to the upper edges of the other three sides.
Brush: 9 5/8in (24.5cm) long; brush rest: 4 1/4in (10.75cm) wide; box: 6 1/8in (15.6cm) wide (3).
Footnotes:
文房三件
約1910年 湘妃竹帶蓋毛筆 方以智款
清 紅木筆擱
清 十八世紀 紫檀滑蓋長方盒

Provenance: (zitan box)
The zitan box:
Asiantiques, Florida, 2001
Ken Greenstein Collection, New York

來源：（紫檀滑蓋長方盒）
Asiantiques古董行，佛羅里達，2001年
Ken Greenstein舊藏，紐約

The inscription on the spotted bamboo brush refers to Fang Yizhi (1611–1671), a notable figure of the Ming–Qing transition period as a scholar and philosopher and painter. Toward the end of the Qing dynasty and into the Republican period in the early twentieth century, there was revival of interest in late-Ming intellectuals who had martyred themselves for the Ming cause. It is likely that this brush dates from that period, the inscription being commemorative of Fang Yizhi's stand against the Manchus.

Fang Yizhi was a native of Anhui, born in the city of Tongcheng. His family included scholars and government officials. Following his success in the jinshi examinations in 1640, he accepted an appointment to the Hanlin Academy. The fall of Beijing four years later to the conquering Manchus terminated his official career, leading to years in southern China evading the advancing Qing forces. Tonsured and in the guise of a Buddhist monk, Fang was captured in 1650 and was released upon repeated refusal to serve the Manchu government. He committed suicide in 1671.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤
¤ Without reserve