An inscribed imperial octagonal inkstone, Mark and period of Qianlong, dated to the bingshen year (in accordance with 1776) | 清乾隆丙申年（1776年） 歙石八方御製詩「仿唐觀象硯」 《乾隆丙申新正御銘》款 「德充符」、「會心不遠」印

Mayuyama & Co. Ltd, Tokyo, October 1987.

A Japanese private collection.

Hirano Kotoken, Tokyo.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2011, lot 2810.

繭山龍泉堂，東京，1987年10月

日本私人收藏

平野古陶軒，東京

香港蘇富比2011年4月8日，編號2810

The five-character title at the top reads fang Tang Guanxiang yan ('Imitation of the 'Heaven-Observing' inkstone of the Tang dynasty'), followed by a poem dated to the bingshen year (in accordance with 1776) and two seals reading De chong fu ('Sign of virtue within') and Huixin buyuan ('Enlightened mind not far').

The poem can be translated as follows:

The ancient sage observed heaven,

And put his ideas to pen.

Although eight trigrams were drawn,

Their principles were primordial.

Who has made this inkstone

To expound on The Book of Change?

With four sides and four corners,

Neither a square nor a circle,

Further adding yin and yang,

Now all components are present.

Playful words to add on it,

Choosing a stone to imitate it.

Dripping dew to grind ink red,

It will aid me till the end of day.

Qianlong imperial inscription on the New Year's Day of the bingshen year

The present inkstone takes its form from one of the ten old inkstones from the Palace collection chosen by the Qianlong Emperor in the 14th year of his reign (1749) to be bestowed with a name and dating. The first of these inkstones was an octagonal Duan stone, named Guanxiang and attributed to the Tang period by the Emperor. A closely related She stone example was included in the exhibition The Imperial Studio, Littleton and Hennessey Asian Art, London, 2009, cat. no. 15, which also includes a discussion of the context of this type of inscribed octagonal inkstone. For a duan inkstone inscribed with an imperial poem and carved in the form of a Han tile see one sold in these rooms, 30th November 1980, lot 580.

刻御製文：

古聖觀象，意在筆前。卦雖畫入，理具先天。

伊誰製硯，義闡韋編。四維四隅，匪方匪圓。

弗設奇偶，全體備焉。玩辭是資，選石倣旃。滴露研朱，用佐窮年。