Page 115 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art London May 2018
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PROPERTY FROM A SCOTTISH PRIVATE (Preface to the Orchid Pavilion) in Qianlong emperor made it his lifelong mission to assemble
COLLECTION
Emperor’s calligraphy, the stone of an even pale as many important copies of Wang’s works as
AN INSCRIBED IMPERIAL celadon tone possible. On the 44th year of his reign (1779),
CELADON JADE PLAQUE 22 by 10.3 cm, 8⅝ by 4 in. Qianlong compiled in an eight-volume work,
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG This plaque is notable for its inscription which is comprised of the best surviving copies of the
Lanting xu together with copies of other great
PERIOD incised in the calligraphic style of the Qianlong Tang calligraphers and his own poems.
Emperor, and cites a passage from Wang
of rectangular form, one face exquisitely incised Xizhi’s (a.307- c.365) Lanting xu (Preface to the £ 10,000-15,000
and gilded with scholars and attendants engaged Orchid Pavilion). It combines three of Qianlong’s
in various pursuits amongst a riverside landscape passions: calligraphy, history and highly-crafted HK$ 111,000-166,000 US$ 14,100-21,200
with pavilions sheltered amongst pine, bamboo works of art. His particular enthusiasm for Wang
and wutong trees, the reverse engraved and Xizhi’s calligraphy, who was also known as the ৻ඤ ڡͣ͗ږᕚᚆڤҏ̅ࠫ
gilded with an inscription from the Lanting xu ‘Sage of Calligraphy’, is well documented as the
IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 113
