CHINESE BRUSH POT OR VASE

18^th-19^th century, zitan wood carved in the 100 boys theme. The subject stems from the story of King Wen who had 99 male offspring and one adopted. One of his sons, King WU founded the Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 BC). 5 1/2” in height with thick flared lip. The body was carved in deep relief with boys, some in vignettes as three in a basket, one in a pagoda, and two a tree. A banner on one side bears the greeting Bai zi zhu shou, One hundred boys congratulate your anniversary/longevity. While the theme is well documented, we found no other example such as this in literature or on the internet.