Property of a Gentleman 士紳珍藏
A silver wire-inlaid zitan inkstone and cover Ming dynasty | 明 紫檀錯銀絲寒梅暗香蓋硯 《玄素製》款
Auction Closed
April 22, 07:57 AM GMT
Estimate
120,000 - 150,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
Property of a Gentleman
A silver wire-inlaid zitan inkstone and cover
Ming dynasty
士紳珍藏
明 紫檀錯銀絲寒梅暗香蓋硯 《玄素製》款
the inkstone bordered along the upper edges and sides with silver wire-inlaid bands of stylised scrolls, chilong and taotie masks, the underside with a signature reading Xuansu zhi ('made by Xuansu') and a silver wire-inlaid keyfret border enclosing a carved panel of flowering branches echoed on the cover, the cover further incised with an inscription reading an xiang fu dong yue huanghun ('a hint of fragrance floating in eventide')
9.2 cm
題識：暗香浮動月黃昏
Christie's Hong Kong, 29th April 2001, lot 532.
Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th October 2010, lot 2198.
香港佳士得2001年4月29日，編號532
水松石山房收藏
香港蘇富比2010年10月8日，編號2198
An xiang fu dong yue huang hun.
A hint of fragrance floating in eventide.
The short inscription is an excerpt from a poem written by the Song dynasty poet Lin Biu (697-1028). Lin, a native of Qiantang (present day Hangzhou) in Zhejiang province, was renowned for his poetry and for being a recluse at Gushan on the West Lake (Xi Hu). He never sought office nor married but delighted in growing plum blossoms and keeping cranes which he referred to as his 'wife' and 'children' respectively. His poems are typically about the hermetic life and the tranquil state of mind. This excerpt is from one of his most famous poems titled Little Plum Blossom of the Garden in the Hills. The inkstone also bears the unrecorded wood carver's signature Xuansu zhi ('made by Xuansu').