Page 192 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

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AN EXTREMELY RARE AND 清乾隆 鎏金銅嵌料石小算盤
EXCEPTIONAL GILT-BRONZE
來源：
PASTE-INSET ABACUS 香港邦翰斯2014年11月27日，編號126
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG

PERIOD

lavishly constructed, the rectangular frame divided into an
upper and lower deck with a beam, the beam and frame
surmounted by an undulating band and adorned at each of
the four corners with a florette inset with red and green paste,
each deck with twelve rods piercing through bean counters,
each counter of compressed globular form and centred with a
brilliant multi-coloured crystal and paste-inset band, all within
a frieze of twenty-eight further florettes bordering the outer
edge of the frame
15.3 cm, 6 in.
PROVENANCE
Bonhams Hong Kong, 27th November 2014, lot 126.
HK$ 800,000-1,000,000
US$ 103,000-128,000
This superb quality abacus assumes a new identity as both
a tool and an artwork in its own right through the use of the
Western-inspired technique of glass-paste inlay. It conveys
the wealth and opulence of the Qianlong period and the great
variety of materials and artisans available at the Emperor’s
disposal. Such elaborate glass paste-inset decorated
instruments are rare, and the current example appears to be
unique.
The abacus, suanpan (counting tray), was an essential
instrument for every merchant, trader and clerk in ancient
China. While the earliest known record of this device dates
back to circa 1st century B.C. as documented in Zhoubi
Suanjin [Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular
Paths of Heaven], the present rectangular form featuring
two decks and eleven rods appears to have been in use since
the Ming dynasty. For a further discussion of the history and
use of the Chinese abacus, see ‘The Abacus’, Orientations,
September 1970, vol. 1, no. 9, p. 46.

190 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比