Brush holder

Zhang Xihuang was a resident of Jiaxing in Zhejiang province. He is noted for bamboo carvings that are closely related to contemporary paintings by the scholar elite. He most often depicted landscapes accompanied by long inscriptions. Even his technique, which involved carving away the background areas and leaving the motifs in reserve in the skin of the bamboo, creates an effect that is in keeping with the refined tastes of the scholar elite.