Page 52 - Sotheby's Qianlong Calligraphy Oct. 3, 2018

fig. 1
Wang Xianzhi, Zhongqiu tie (Mid autumn manuscript), Eastern Jin dynasty
Image Courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing
圖一
東晉 王獻之《中秋帖》
圖片鳴謝：北京故宮博物院

year of the Kangxi reign (1703). Weng invited calligrapher There was also a Thirteen Lines on White Jade with an
and epigraphy specialist Yang Bin to research this object identical inscription. The scholarly consensus on White Jade
and write a colophon on it. Subsequently the Thirteen Lines is that its calligraphy was slightly thinner compared to the
on Jade gained widespread renown, and may have been version in the Capital Museum, and its stone surface showed
sent as a tribute to the imperial court in the 54th year of the knife marks, suggesting that it was a later copy. Reputedly
Kangxi reign (1715). After the Xianfeng reign, however, it left Thirteen Lines on White Jade was destroyed in a fire in the
the court and entered private hands. Reputedly, a young Qianqing Palace during the 3rd year of the Jiaqing reign
person acquired it in Anhui in 1962 and subsequently sold (1798). Since the work no longer exists, I do not wish to
it to Duoyuxuan, which then transferred it to the Shanghai speculate about it, but it seems reasonable to assume that
Museum, which however returned it later on the seller’s it was also an engraving on rock – possibly white marble –
request. In 1981, the collector brought it to Beijing, and Qin rather than true jade.
Gong, General Manager of the Beijing Cultural Artefacts To summarise: Thirteen Lines on Jade was once in the Qing
Company, purchased it at the price of 18000 yuan, and then imperial court collection, and was appreciated in person by
transferred it to the Capital Museum. 3
emperors from Kangxi to Qianlong. Otherwise there would
I had the good fortune to study the Thirteen Lines on Jade not be so many rubbings of it at the Palace Museum. The
(fig. 5) in person at the Capital Museum. The material does Palace Museum also contains some Song, Yuan and Ming
4
not appear to be green jade, but a dark and fine-textured dynasty rubbings. However, it was the Qianlong Emperor who
rock. It is unclear when and by whom the Thirteen Lines was ultimately decided to create a version of Thirteen Lines on
engraved on it. Some say it was during the Tang dynasty, true jade.
some say that it was done by the Northern Song court, or The calligraphy on the present jade screen engraved with
by Jia Sidao of the Southern Song, or by Zhao Mengfu of the Thirteen Lines is similar in style to the Capital Museum
Yuan. Some say that it was copied from the calligraphic model work. However, some characters on the latter are damaged
catalogue Baojinzhai fatie, which itself was engraved by Cao or missing, whereas their counterparts on the jade screen
Zhige in the 4th year of the Xianchun reign of the Southern are intact. It is likely that court artisans drew the missing or
Song dynasty (1268). The Thirteen Lines on Jade is currently damaged characters from other rubbing copies in the court,
5
dated to the Song dynasty.
or else directly reproduced one of these rubbings.

50 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比