Page 81 - Bonhams Chinese Paintings June 2015

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Property from Various Owners 7122

7121 Fine Chinese Works of Art and Paintings | 79
A large duan inkstone with dragon decoration
The massive piece of stone of thin and irregular square section, the
top edge incised to depict a winged dragon peering out from a band
of swirling clouds above the ovoid inkwell immediately above the
incised four character seal reading Yanqingshuo Xuan, the remaining
surfaces ornamented only by the natural imperfections in the stone
and a twelve character incised couplet reading Lingxia shi yu suo xi,
sui yi chai you duan bi.
10 5/8 x 11 3/4 x 1 3/4in (27 x 30 x 4.5cm)
$4,000 - 6,000

7122
A circular ink cake
Qing dynasty
Of flat circular section encircled by a raised lip surrounding the edges,
one recessed side molded in a complex astrological/astronomical
star chart with several constellations highlighted in gilt, the reverse
centered by a recessed rectangular cartouche impressed in gilt to read
ziweiyuan in seal script.
5 3/4 in (14.6cm) diameter
$3,000 - 5,000

The Ziweiyuan is one of three ‘enclosures’ or yuan into which the night
sky is traditionally divided according to Chinese cosmology.