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BEYOND COMPARE: A Thousand Years of the Literati Aesthetic






















                                               fig. 2  A tixi lacquer fly whisk. Collection of Kyushu National Museum.
                                                           Photo: Yamazaki Shinichi
                                                  ॱ̣  ൖ㎈ਙ叿គಠ   ̏๷४⒤ښḵ㩉ᆵⳉ   ൶商Пˏᤧ   ᎍྗ


                   nown as vyajana in Sanskrit, the fly whisks were produced in ancient   ךྡྷd૕Ⴇމ˜WZBKBOB™d̚Ιܓ͜⤬ˬeˬe৵ഃᖕˣୖϓd
            KIndia from white tail hairs of yaks, oxen, or horses, and had appeared   Ϙ׵ʮʩۃɓ˰ߏک̙ίΙܓᖵஔʕԈՉԒᅂfךྡྷίН઺ʕҲ
            in Indian art as early as the 1st century B.C.. They became an important
                                                                      စഹࠠࠅٙԉЍdʔස֚݊઺ήЗٙ൥ᅄdܵʘ౨ਗᚨႼরᔥϾ
            implement in Buddhism as a sign of leadership and a manifestation of the
                                                                      ʔෆՉԒdһϞഹฉేٙўจfίᐥ֚ʕdךྡྷ͵މਞᐥٙʈՈf
            vow not to kill, as they could be used to ward off flies, mosquitoes, and other
                                                                      Ͼ׵༸઺ʕdךྡྷۆ˾ڌəग़̀ᙗ಺ٙࠬᇍf
            insects without killing them. In Chan Buddhism, the fly whisks assumed a
            further role as an implement used during meditation, while in Daoism, they
                                                                      ࡜೒މᎉဒٙɓ၇fဒΘਗ਼ᕐЍ˸ɪٙဒᄴ׵ߣ৶ɪϞ஝ܛή਼
            came to symbolise the carefree nature of the ideal Daoist stage.
                                                                      ጐЇ޴຅ٙێܓܝd˸ુɠʲࠦᎉ̈ʔΝٙ७ུdΪࣖ؈җֽ೒
            Tixi is a type of carved lacquer technique where the artisan carves through   ͤጋฦܝٙЍዣd݂၈މ࡜೒f࡜೒ସ׵҂˾dኜҖεމ˚ۜ͜
            layers of carefully built-up lacquer of at least two colours using various
                                                                      ᗳdν䋘eᆵeଷeްຐeഅ၍eࣂݛdךྡྷۆ฽މӼԈfπ˰
            decorative motifs, often repeated in a modular fashion. The technique was
                                                                      ˇᅰٙ҂˾࡜೒ʕdЧසϞ̤̮ɓ˕ၾϤ७ུ޴Νٙךྡྷdତᔛ
            especially popular during the Song and Yuan periods, when it was used to
            produce many utilitarian forms such as bowls, dishes, boxes, cup stands, and   ɘψ਷ͭ௹ي᎜d༱׵࣬ݵߕஔ᎜࢝ᚎྡ፽҂ʩ㗮ߕjើট㗮
            brush or fan holders. Perhaps due to their less functional but more symbolic   ဒኜ㘒ʕː㗫‘d؇ԯd     ϋdྡو     ໮€ྡɚfΝ̤ࠫ
            role,  tixi fly whisks were not produced in great number. There appears   ༱ɓ˕ی҂࡜೒تई७അdྡو     ໮d˸ʿɓݛڗٙی҂࡜೒
            to be only one other tixi fly whisk of this design, which is in the Kyushu
                                                                      νจ७ךྡྷdྡو     ໮fϤݛךྡྷၾɘψ਷ͭ௹ي᎜ᔛךྡྷٙ
            National Museum, see The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China: Featuring
                                                                      ʕݬ༰ᄱ၂dک׵ᐑ౥fʝ޴߈ౢٙږ፺७ضഹ၍Ԓᄱ॥Ъ̈޴
            Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares, Tokyo, 2004, no. 119 (fig. 2), where it
            is illustrated along with a tixi brush holder with waves design, no. 120, and a   Ꮠٙɽʃᜊʷdᒻ׼߉̈d׵π˰ʕ਷ဒኜʕᗭঐɓԈfϤݛך
            longer and slightly narrower tixi fly whisk with ruyi motifs, no. 121, all from   ྡྷڭπًرˈމԄλdဒࠦΈᆗdϡeලᕐЍဒᄴʱ׼dޟ᙮ᗭ
            the Southern Song period. The current fly whisk and the Kyushu Museum   ੻f
            example have a wider mid-section compared to the other holders, allowing
            for a more ergonomic grasp, and both are distinguished by the fluidity and   Ϥݛךྡྷ฽Ϟ̙ঐࡡމ૶ڋᐥཾ؇ीː൳ʘيf؇ीː൳͉Τᇸ
            depth of their carving.                                   ː൳dجΤጳኌd͛׵एϪږശִऌϪጤdɞ๋׵ᘽψజࢸυہ
                                                                      ቻdܝታ፼؄ψ͑၅υdੰဢɤɧϋ        ϋਞၾюɧ࣭ٙˀ૶
            The present fly whisk is reputedly brought to Japan in 1676 by the Chinese
            monk Jiang Xinyue (1639-1677), Dharma name, Xingchou, when he fled   ৎԫ̰઻d؇ನ˚͉fת˚ܝd໮؇ीː൳dݺᚔ׵֚઺ʿᖵஔ
            from the aftermath of a failed  coup d’etat alongside Wu Sangui against the   ჯਹdಀաՑᅃʇ࢕ੰ࢑੬௔˥˒ᖴୋɚ˾ᖴ˴ᅃʇΈ䃂ᗎпf
            Qing government. Jiang took on the name Toko Shinetsu after he moved   ᅃʇΈ䃂Ԩַᜡމྪ׹ʆ߂෤υИܵf؇ीː൳މ̚ೞঐ˓d࿁
            to Japan, and was very active in both the Buddhist community and the art
                                                                      ׵̚ೞί˚͉ٙપᄿʿෂᅧЪ̈əਃɽ্ᘠf߂෤υᔛɓ˜ෂН
            scene.  He received patronage from Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1628-1701), who
                                                                      ᅆն™՜ൿdމː൳ί؄ψࣛᘱוᒪੀВୡϓމ૎ݸ֚ྪ׹ݼୋ
            was the grandson of the first shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the patriarch of
                                                                         ෂɛٙ΂նdՉʕ౤ʿɓݛךྡྷdʔٝ݊щуމ͉يk؇ԯ਷
            the Mito Tokugawa family. Mitsukuni was a progressive ruler who deeply
            admired Chinese culture and Confucian ideology, and invited Toko Shinetsu   ͭ௹ي᎜ᔛɓషϪ˒೥࢕␜␜ʆהᖭ؇ीː൳ӽ྅€ྡɓdՉ
            to become the abbot of the family’s Ming-style temple Gionji. The Gionji   ׵೥ʕ˓ܵɓݛךྡྷd͵ၾϤݛხމ޴྅dɤʱϞሳfϤݛךྡྷ
            temple has a scroll dated 1670 showing the appointment of Toko Shinetsu   ܝމɽ௉݇ձ €         ޜᔛfɽ௉݇ձ ಀΪՉί˝ʈᖵ
            as the 35th abbot of the Caodong sect of Souchang school when he was in
                                                                      ɪٙϓఱ஗యႩމɛග਷ᘒf
            Hangzhou. It is interesting to note that the content of the scroll mentions that
            a fly whisk was given to Toko Shinetsu upon the appointment, which may
            possibly be the present lot. A portrait of Toko Shinetsu by the Edo-period
            painter Tsubaki Chinzan is in the Tokyo National Museum, where the monk
            is shown holding a lacquer fly whisk much like the present lot (fig. 1).





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