Page 20 - September 20 2021 Fabian Collection of Chinese Paintings Art Bonhams NYC

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RUAN YUAN (1764-1849)
The Song Hu Inscription in Seal Script
A set of four hanging scrolls, ink on paper, inscribed by the artist with
a dedication to his son, Fu’er, and signed Yixing Laoren Bo Yuan, with
three artist’s seals Langhuan Xianguang, Yixing Yanling and Huguang
shanse Ruangong lou.

53 1/2 x 12 3/8in (136.1 x 31.5cm), each scroll (4).
$10,000 - 15,000
阮元 篆書錄《頌壺銘》 水墨紙本 立軸四屏

Provenance/來源:
Shanghai Duoyunxuan, 29 November 1999, lot 806
上海朵雲軒，1999年11月29日，拍品編號806

Published/出版:
Little, Stephen, and J. May Lee Barrett. New Songs on Ancient Tunes:
19th-20th Century Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Richard
Fabian Collection, Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts,
2007, pp. 116-117
Little, Stephen, J. May Lee Barrett,《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九
及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝術博物館，夏威夷，
2007年，頁116-117

Exhibited/展覽:
New Songs on Ancient Tunes, Honolulu Art Academy, Honolulu,
Hawaii, August 30-October 28, 2007
《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝
術博物館，夏威夷，2007年8月30日至10月28日

Ruan Yuan’s 1804 text Jiguzhai zhongding yiqi kuanzhi (Inscriptions
on Bronze ritual vessels compiled by the Jigu Studio) is one of the
most important compilations of early source material for the Jinshi
calligraphers, bringing together many important discoveries made
during the kaozheng (Evidential Studies) movement. This inscription-
-appearing in Chapter 5, pp 12a-14a--is taken from a Western Zhou
(1100-771 BCE) bronze hu form vessel. This hu vessel is now in the
collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and is considered to
be a masterpiece of Western Zhou bronze casting.

The text describes in colorful detail a government investiture ritual
ceremony for an official named Song. Testifying to the important role of
bronze vessels from the Shang dynasty to the Zhou, the vessel and its
accompanying inscription had a renaissance in the late Qing dynasty
as a muse for calligraphers. Along with a dedication to the artist’s
son, Ruan Yuan notes the number of characters in the inscription, an
empirical touch pointing to the academic roots of Jinshi calligraphy.

阮元撰寫於1804年的《積古齋鐘鼎彝器款識》為金石書法家們提供了
大量早期文字資料，以及考證學研究成果。此幅書法內容為現藏於台
北故宮博物院的重要西周青銅器『頌壺』之銘文，在《積古齋鐘鼎彝
器款識》中亦有記錄。銘文內容記述了一位名為”頌”的官員接受周王
冊命及賞賜的儀典過程。作為商周金文的代表作之一，『頌壺』上的
銘文受到了眾多金石書法家的關注。而阮元在落款處特意提及文篇字
數，顯露出金石派考證辨析之治學特點。

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