Page 194 - Christies IMportant Chinese Art Sept 26 2020 NYC

1641
A RARE DARK OLIVE-GREY STONE TILE-FORM INKSTONE
FIRST HALF OF 18TH CENTURY
The ink stone is made in the form of a Han roof tile, with one end gently
curved and carved with a seven-character inscription, fang Han Shiqu
ge wa yan (in imitation of the inkstone made from the roof tile of Shiqu
pavilion of the Han dynasty), and the other end more deeply curved.
The circular grinding surface has a beaded border below a poem titled
langweng zan (In praise of an old man), followed by a seal reading
Shiwen yin (seal of Shiwen). The underside is carved in archaistic script
with four characters, Shiqu ge wa (roof tile from the Shiqu pavilion),
followed by Xuande yuannian (first year of Xuande reign [1426]), and by
two seals, Xuan and De, and there is a lengthy inscription on one long
side which is signed Gao Fenghan.
5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) long

$30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE:
Sir Percival David (1892-1964) Collection, England.
Bonhams London, 20 April 1983, lot 132.
Auspicious Treasures from the Blumenfield Collection; Christie's New
York, 22 March 2012, lot 1278.

EXHIBITED:
Los Angeles, Sumptuous Elegance: Art of the 18th Century Qing
Dynasty, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 17 March - 30 June 1992.
LITERATURE:
-
p
1
.
,
9
8
9
8
7
S. Riddel, Dated Chinese Antiquities, London/Boston, 1979, pp. 188-9, , The International Exhibition of Chinese Art at the Royal Academy 1935-6:
p
9
pl. 149a, no. 1426. Sir Percival David, Exhibition Committee Director, and Tang Xifen (Tang Hsi Fen)
Exhibition Secretary, examining exhibits.
Photograph by an unknown photographer from Topical Press Ag, 1935.
N
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The poem inscribed above the well was composed by the Northern © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London.
h
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Song poet Su Shi (1037-1101), who is known to have given to his friend
n
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Chen Mingying an inkstone on which he incised the same poem that t
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appears on the present example. The poem cites the antiquity and the
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source of the stone, and extolls its qualities, as well as its worthiness
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of being preserved by later generations.
4
The inscription on one side is signed Gao Fenghan (1683-1749), ,
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a well-known Qing dynasty poet, painter, calligrapher and seal l
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carver, known for his love of inkstones. The inscription states that t
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the inkstone previously belonged to Lantai Zheng shan ren (hermit t
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(
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Zheng of Lantai), that the stone comes from Qingzhou (present-day
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Shangdong province), that the carving is reminiscent of statues from
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the Five Dynasties, and that Gao was asked to carve the inscription by
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his friend Wen shan ren (hermit Wen).
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A Duan inkstone similar in shape to the present inkstone, dated
e
d
a
Qianlong, and similarly inscribed with an inscription and a seal above
d
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l
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e
a
o
b
the circular grinding surface was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 16-17
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January 1989, lot 409.

清十八世紀上半葉 仿漢石渠閣瓦硯
(inscriptions)