Page 61 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

and Box
Inkstone various shades of green. The wooden box is year (1702), signed Wang Shizhen (I634-I7I1),
.................................................................................... also carved in the shape of a length of bamboo. a preeminent poet of the early Qing period,
18th
inscribed with dates
Qing dynasty, early century, The ink slab and its case carry three inscrip- and is followed by Wang's seal, Yuan. If this
to
corresponding 1370 and 1702 tions altogether, which offer clues and raise inscription genuine ownership mark by
is not a
Green schist and wood questions about its date. An inscription on the Wang Shizhen, it is likely to have been added
L. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm) underside of the stone and one on the lid of either during Wang's time or not long after his
Chait Howe and Allan S. chait, in
Gift ofMarion the box, though signed Qinggong Daoren and death. From 1722 onward, because the
in
M. Chait and
E.
memory of Ralph Libby Chait, 1981 Nancun, respectively, both have the same seal, character :hen Wang's name also occurred
Zuo. While these names are unknown from in the personal name of the newly enthroned
1981.120.la-c
other sources, they probably denote the same Yongzheng emperor, the characters of Wang's
The green inkstone is carved in the shape person. The stone's inscription is dated to 1370, name were replaced by others that had a simi-
of bamboo stem segments and is adorned which is curiously early, considering the good lar sound. Since here Wang's name was writ-
in low relief with leafy branches rising from condition of the box. The third inscription, on ten in its original form, the inscription was
behind rocks. The slanted surface of the sunken the upper side of the slab, comprising eight probably carved before 1722. WAS
grinding area displays multiple layers of nat- delicate characters executed in regular script,
ural markings within the stone in purple and is dated to the summer solstice of the renwu
60