Page 182 - Important Chiense Ceramics and Works of Art, Christie's.pdf

PROPERTY FROM A EUROPEAN COLLECTION
2986
A BOXWOOD FIGURE OF LIU XIZAI
QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
The figure is carved seated on a rock with books on his side,
wearing loosely fitting robes tied around the waist with a tasseled
rope with his hair tied up in a cloth cap, and holding a fly-whisk in
his left hand. The back of the rock is incised with two inscriptions,
one reading Rongzhai xiaoxiang, shi nian wu shi you jiu (figure of
Rong Zhai, at age fifty-nine), the other reading Chen Tingrong
xie (inscribed by Chen Tingrong).
7 º in. (18 cm.) high, box
HK$700,000-900,000 US$90,000-120,000
It is very rare to find a boxwood carving of a figure, especially
one as realistically depicted as the current lot. The figure is
identified as Liu Xizai (1813-1881) when he was 59 years of
age according to one of the two inscriptions on the back of
the rock. The second inscription is the signature of the carver
Chen Tingrong, who does not appear to be recorded.
Liu Xizai, pseudonym Rongzhai, was a distinguished scholar
of Chinese Classics and literary critic during the late Qing
period. Liu Xizai, a native of Jiangsu province, passed the
Civil Services Examination and acquired the jinshi title
in the 24th year of Daoguang reign (1844). He served as
an instructor at the Shangshufang (Imperial study for
princes), where he earned the comment ‘equanimous
temperament and untroubled in nature’ from the
Xianfeng Emperor.

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Ǹ㪀ᅡ᥼༵ǹ
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ֿ⊐᫉㑷㇦ݯ᳅࣡࠻࠺ǯ

inscription
㠺ᙔ
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