A Large White 'Litchi' Stone 'Qilin' Seal 20th Century

of square section, the upper section carved in openwork with a group of qilin with their bodies coiled around one another's, above an inscription on one side of the seal with Liu Zongyuan's poem Jiang Xue ('River snow') in cursive script, ending with the signatures of the carver and the calligrapher, namely Zhou Baoting and Li Yiming respectively

Liu Zongyuan was a renowned writer from the Tang dynasty. His poem Jiang Xue highlights the reclusive protagonist's physical and figurative solitude whilst he continues fishing on a little boat in the snowy weather. The inscription of the poem is followed by the names of the carver and calligrapher, Zhou Baoting and Li Yiming respectively.  Zhou Baoting (1906 - 1989) was famous for his craftsmanship, notably carving of Shoushan soaptones. Li Yiming (b. 1941) was originally from Shanghai and currently holds various positions related to calligraphy in China, including the Fujiansheng shufajia xiehui ('Fujian calligraphers' association'), Fujiansheng shoushanshi weidiao yishu yanjiuhui ('Fujian Shoushan stone carving research team').