Page 13 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

are objects for the scholar class: incense para- complex diaper ground in low relief, covered and foot are decorated with a single band of
phernalia, brush holders, ruyi (mushroom- with lively, flowering tree peonies that seem to inlaid silver wire. The lid of the box shows an
shaped) scepters, or hand warmers. They are grow along its surface. On the vase is a butter- animated dragon flying amid clouds while hold-
characterized their densely worked back- fly high relief (not illustrated) between ing the stem of a lingihi fungus in his mouth.
in
by
grounds covered with naturalistically ren- flowering roses and a single spray of lingihi Bamboo and lingjhi also decorate its sides.
dered flowers or plants. The latter are usually fungus (see also p. 53) set against a double-Y DPL
cast in high relief and covered with gold leaf, diaper background. The rims of the mouth
giving them an almost gaudy effect that may
in
explain part Wen Zhenheng's written dis-
dain for Hu's work-he may have considered
such colorfulness too obvious for the refined
taste of a gentleman scholar.
Five implements were commonly used for
incense burning during the late Ming and early
a
Qing dynasties: box, a burner, a flat-bowled
spoon and tongs, as well as a vase for storing
these utensils. While it is not clear if this box,
burner, and vase were conceived as part of
the same set, all three are inscribed with Hu
Wenming's name. The base of the burner has
a six-character mark in seal script reading
"Yunjian Hu Wenming Zhi" (made by Hu
of
Wenming Yunjian). Both the box and the
vase are marked on their bases with the four-
character "Hu Wenming Zhi."
inscription
The incense burner derives its shape from
the handled gui vessel of the Shang and Zhou
dynasties. The body is decorated with a
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