This double brush pot is carved from the same mottled yellow and black soapstone favoured across Republic-era scholar's objects, though here the decoration turns floral rather than figural — a large flowering plant worked across the front, substantial enough to read almost as sculpture rather than surface ornament. The two reservoirs themselves aren't left plain either, incised with their own floral detail so that even the functional parts of the piece carry decoration through to the last inch.
Soapstone's give under the carver's tool made this level of botanical detail possible without the material fighting back, and pieces like this sat on a scholar's desk doing double duty as both a working object and something worth simply looking at between uses.
Condition notes
Very good antique condition. Small chips along the edge of the base on reverse; minor nicks commensurate with age.
