A finely carved tianhuang 'mythical beast' seal, Signed Yuxuan, 17th century | 十七世紀 田黃瑞獸鈕印料 《玉璇》款
Auction Closed
October 16, 05:14 AM GMT
Estimate
300,000 - 600,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
A finely carved tianhuang 'mythical beast' seal,
Signed Yuxuan, 17th century
十七世紀 田黃瑞獸鈕印料
《玉璇》款
of square section, the knob finely carved with a recumbent animal, portrayed curled up with its head turned left, its bearded face surmounted by a long curled horn, the wavy curls of the beast's thick mane and tail delicately picked out in fine incised lines, one side inscribed with two characters reading Yuxuan, the seal face left uncarved, the stone of an intense translucent yellow-orange tone with russet inclusions
h. 2.8 cm, 52.7 g.
Collection of Chiu Chu-tung (1900-95), Tingsongshuwu Collection, Hong Kong.
The Canton Collection, Hong Kong, and thence by family descent.
招曙東（1900-95年，聽松書屋）收藏，香港
小聽颿樓收藏，香港，此後家族傳承
Anthology of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1985, cat. no. 248.
《中國文物集珍：敏求精舍銀禧紀念展覽》，香港藝術館，香港，1985年，編號248
Ronald Poon, The Dream in Reality: Ronald Poon 1968-1998, Beijing, 1999, p. 218 (bottom left).
潘祖堯，《現實中的夢想：建築師潘祖堯的心路歷程1968-1998》，北京，1999年，頁218（左下）
The exceptional richness and translucency of the stone, the characteristic quality and naturalistic style of the carving, as well as the typical two-character signature in running script, lend credence to the Yang Yuxuan attribution.
Yang Yuxuan, a native of Fujian, was one of the most celebrated soapstone carvers of figurines in Chinese art history. Even during his lifetime, his contemporaries praised the excellence of his carving skills and the exquisiteness of his creations. Yang was a prolific carver, but only a very small number of his works were signed. Traditionally, while literary artists, such as poets, writers and calligraphers, were highly venerated and were expected to sign their work, craftsmen such as Yang would generally not have carved their signature on a piece unless it was of particular importance.
Signed by Yang, this piece is closely comparable with the famous tianhuang carving in the shape of a recumbent ram, carved and signed by Yang Yuxuan, in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, included in the exhibition The Chinese Scholar’s Studio. Artistic Life in the Late Ming Period, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1987, cat. no. 54.
印料色澤金黃，潤澤半透，工藝精湛卓絕，氣韻生動如真，加上典型行書銘款，當屬名匠楊玉璇佳作無誤。
楊璣，福建漳浦人，名璇，字玉璇，一作玉璿。楊氏善刻印鈕，雕人物、走獸靈動逼真，時人稱絕，乃中國藝史上壽石名匠。玉璇傳世作品不少，但落款者寥寥。中國自古士大夫思想，視文人為清高，詩書繪畫最得重視，金石陶瓷則屬雕蟲小技，出自匠人之手，因此士人作品俱有落款，匠人則多不具名。此品雖然袖珍，鐫銘帶款，足見其珍。
上海博物館藏著名楊玉璇雕田黃臥羊鎮紙，同樣署款，可資比較，收入《The Chinese Scholar’s Studio. Artistic Life in the Late Ming Period》，亞洲協會畫廊，紐約，1987年，編號54。
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