This opulent gold-splashed Arabic-inscribed incense burner, finely cast of archaistic lian form, is not only of unusual and subtle quality, but is also endowed with an unusually complex and beautifully worked inscription, bearing one of the more intriguing hall marks to be found on such incense burners.
The Feiyunge hall name and the idiosyncratic seal script manner of writing it are associated with the important Hangzhou painters Sun Kehong (1532-1611) and his pupil from a young age, Lan Ying (1585-1644 or later). Sun was almost like a modern-day contemporary artist of his time; an ideas man, whose sometimes awkward renditions were quirkily original. His brand new stylisations in rock painting, for example, were dramatically improved upon by Lan, who made them one of his most successful standbys. Sun Kehong’s hall name was Feiyunge; but it was Lan Ying whose borrowing from his teacher of the art name resulted in its rendition within a circular or oval outline as a seal, much as seen here. See for example the same oval Feiyun seal illustrated in Zhongguo shu hua jia yin jian kuan shi, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 1987, vol. 2, p. 1554, seal no. 43. It seems overwhelmingly likely that bronze incense burners bearing the mark were in one way or another associated with Hangzhou in the early-mid 17th century, and with one or both of those famous painters. Each of them had an entrepreneurial aspect to his artistic activities.
The archaistic lian form is derived from Han dynasty cosmetic boxes found in tombs of high ranking members of the aristocracy. For a gilt-bronze prototype, see the example in the Smithsonian Institution, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.341a-b. The aesthetic of the current vessel is more restrained, lacking the ring-handles and cover, and without the miniature bear-form feet found on the Han dynasty example.
It is inscribed in sini script, a Chinese Islamic calligraphic form for the Arabic script, developed in the early Ming dynasty. It can refer to any type of Chinese Islamic calligraphy, but is commonly used to refer to script with thick and tapered effects, such as on the current box. It is used extensively in mosques in Eastern China, and to a lesser extent in Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi. Early examples of the script date to the early Ming dynasty, notably the mihrab of the Niujue mosque in Beijing. The mosque itself was founded in 996 during the Liao dynasty, but rebuilt in 1442 during the Zhengtong era.
The inscriptions appear to read: "al-rahim", "al-'azim", "alkarim" - 3 of the 99 names of Allah.
Al-Rahim: "the Exceedingly Merciful".
Al-'Azim: "the One who is greatest, mightiest, grandest".
And most probably: Al-Karīm (although it was more difficult to read): "The Bountiful, The Generous".
