Page 84 - SOtheby's Hong Kong Hawthorne Collection Scholar's Art May 2018

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AN INLAID ELM BURLWOOD TWO-TIERED 明嘉靖 榆樹癭木嵌寶雙層蓋盒
BOX AND COVER 「子昂」字
MING DYNASTY, JIAJING PERIOD
the cover finely inlaid in mother-of-pearl, carnelian, crushed
shells and other hardstones, depicting a warrior standing
sternly next to a large leafless tree and an outcrop issuing
lingzhi, and a groom depicted leading a horse away from the
warrior, carved with a Zi’ang mark, fitted with an internal tray
11.4 by 21.2 by 12.7 cm, 4½ by 8⅜ by 5 in.
Mark
HK$ 150,000-200,000
US$ 19,200-25,500

Zi’ang is the courtesy name of Zhao Mengfu, a prince and
descendant of the Song Dynasty, and a Chinese scholar,
painter, and calligrapher during the Yuan Dynasty, who
specialised in the painting of horses.
In the early Yuan period, when the ruling Mongols curtailed
the employment of Chinese scholar-officials, the theme of
the groom and horse became a symbolic plea for the proper
use of scholarly talent. The famous Zhao Mengu painting
‘Grooms and Horses’ in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York, is illustrated in Harrist Jr., Robert E. and Virginia Bower.
Power and Virtue: The Horse in Chinese Art, China Institute
in America, New York, 1997, cat. no. 19. The current box, so
superbly inlaid with scenes of a warrior, horse and groom, is
carved in the spirit of this rich artistic tradition.

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82 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比