Page 19 - Bonhams, The H Collection, Classical Chinese Furniture, May 13, 2021 London

Du Jin (1465-1509), ‘Enjoying Antiquities’
杜堇 (1465-1509), 玩古圖

Following the rules of taste set down by Wen, the refined and Conclusion
cultivated Mao Xiang used only ‘Xuande’ incense burners. In
his memoir of his lover, Reminiscences of the Plum Shadows Arguably, these eccentric scholars of the late Ming can show
Convent, he writes a detailed section devoted to their shared us the importance of having passion in our activities; be it
love of incense. Here we can catch a glimpse of how a late collecting rocks, flowers, or furniture, or even playing board
Ming literatus enjoyed such fragrances and incense burners: games or raising crickets! Four centuries ago, these pieces of
furniture commissioned by scholars, who could not possibly
She often sat with me quietly in the incense chamber, have conceived of their future environment, have transcended
carefully savouring and adjudicating on famous time and space. Yet the fact that they have the power to
incense…on cold nights, we let down the draperies strike a chord with people from different societies and
on four sides, piled colourful, finely woven blankets, traditions is the ultimate proof of the power of Ming aesthetics
and lit two or three tall red candles. We set forth low transcending to today’s collecting passion.
tables of different heights and arrayed on them Xuande
censers of various sizes, mixing and matching them. 1 J.Zeitlin, Historian of the Strange: Pu Songling and the Chinese Classical
The censers were always hot from earlier use, and their Tale, p.69.
colour was like liquid gold and grain-coloured jade. We 2 Ibid
carefully poked and moved an inch of ember, on top of 3 Ibid.
4
which we put fine sand and then the chosen incense C.Clunas, Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early
Modern China, p.13.
for steaming. The night was half gone, and the aroma 5 Ibid., p.42.
became intense and concentrated. Neither burned nor 6 J.P.Park, Art by the Book: Painting Manuals and the Leisure Life in Late Ming
spent, it was dense, powerful, and pervasive. It was China, pp. 22-24.
pure and supreme…This is meditation and attainment of 7 Anonymous, Tan Meiren (On Feminine Beauty), collected by Wei Yong in
illumination through the nose… 11 Zhenzhongmi.
8 Sam Marsh, Brushpots: A Collectors View. p.54.
Incense and fragrance become vehicles for Mao Xiang’s 9 Mao Xiang, Yu Huai, Plum Shadows and Plank Bridge: Two Memoirs About
depth of feeling, nostalgia, and longing for his favourite Courtesans, p.36.
concubine. Here too, one can get a sense of the elegance 10 C.Clunas, Superfluous Things: Material Culture and Social Status in Early
Modern China, p.43.
and stylishness of a late Ming scholar’s studio. 11 Mao Xiang, Yu Huai, Plum Shadows and Plank Bridge: Two Memoirs About
Courtesans, pp.36-37.

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