Page 42 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

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A SUPERBLY CARVED 十七世紀
AND RARE SOAPSTONE 魏汝奮作壽山石雕那迦犀

FIGURE OF NAGASENA 那尊者坐像
17TH CENTURY, BY WEI 《魏汝奮鐫》款

RUFEN

depicted seated with his left leg raised supporting
the arm, his right arm lifted holding a long stick
picking his ear, clad in loose robes falling into
voluminous folds, the borders incised and gilt
with floral scrolls against a wave ground, his
facial features sensitively rendered with cheerful
slit eyes, finely incised eyebrows and moustache,
and a grin, the gaoshan stone of a rich vermillion-
red tone lightening to a golden caramel tone, the
beige-tone soapstone stand simulating pierced
rockwork covered in padded cushion incised with
diaper grounds, incised with a signature reading
Wei Rufen juan (carved by Wei Rufen)
10.7 cm, 4¼ in.
HK$ 2,000,000-3,000,000
US$ 256,000-384,000

Only a small number of soapstone artists active For other known signed carvings by Wei Rufen,
in Fujian province around the 17th century see a figure of Bodhidharma in the Shanghai
actually signed their work, and of these, the Museum, a gift of Hu Ruizhi, illustrated by
apex of quality was achieved by Wei Rufen, Yang Shen Zhiyu, ed., The Shanghai Museum of Art,
Yuxuan and Zhou Bin. There is little recorded on New York, 1983, no. 208; and also by Robert
Wei Rufen in traditional connoisseurship, but this D. Mowry, Objects from the Chinese Scholar’s
may well be because he was less prolific than Studio. Examples from the Shanghai Museum,
others, whose work is much more commonly Orientations, August 1987, p. 24, illustrated
found. It may also be because his work was on the cover (fig. 1); a figure of a luohan in the
confined to figural carvings rather than seal National Museum of China, donated by Zhou
carvings, which leave deeper archival traces in Desu in 1960, and another in Fujian Provincial
colophons of paintings handed down through the Museum. Other figures by Wei Rufen which
generations. have appeared at auction include a figure sold
in our London rooms, 23rd April 1990, lot 57A;
The current figure is carved from a boulder
a figure of the luohan Kanakabharadvaja, sold
of gaoshan stone of superb quality. Gaoshan
at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th October 2004, lot
stone, which originates in Gaoshan mountain
338, and later in the Mary and George Bloch and
in Fujian, is relatively soft, looser and drier than
Q collections, and a figure of an immortal and
other shoushan stones. It lends itself particularly
deer, sold in these rooms, 31st October 2004,
well to the high quality boyi (extreme low-relief)
lot 125.
carving style so superbly demonstrated on the
current figure. By cutting the stone into a small Nagasen was a Buddhist sage born in Kashmir
block and just lightly carving the surface in order who lived in the 2nd century BC and later became
to preserve as much of the original material as recognised as one of the eighteen luohan. As in
possible, the ‘skin-deep’ design achieves an the current figure, he is customarily depicted as a
extraordinarily high level of naturalism, as so bald, elderly monk scratching his ear with a stick
superbly demonstrated by the powerful facial to symbolise purification of the sense of hearing,
expression. The luohan is enhanced by the adherence to truth and avoidance of gossip.
rockwork cushion, boldly incised in lishu (clerical)
script on the underside. Mark

40 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比