晚清 「紫砂精拓」墨拓本冊 十四開冊頁 水墨紙本 《長白山人延霱》《壬午中龝愛新覺羅昭遠》款

ink on paper, with 14 double leaves, the first inscribed with two colophons, both in running script, the first signed Changbai Shanren Yanyu, impressed with six seals, the second with three, followed by rubbings of various Yixing wares, bearing a total of five seals, each leaf mounted in silk, between brocade-wrapped covers, the title panel inscribed in seal script zisha jing tuo ('fine rubbings of purple sand [stonewares]')

曼殊震鈞（1857-1920年，1911年後又名唐晏）收藏
愛新覺羅昭遠收藏，2002年
Sydney L. Moss Ltd，倫敦，2006年5月

There are some wear to the edges as well as typical openings, especially along the folding lines. Apart from some minor stains and old folding lines, it also has some occasional old damages which occurred before the rubbings were mounted as an album (largest approx. 3 cm), and are now stabilised by the backing paper. The overall condition is otherwise quite good with only some expected foxing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A related album, containing rubbings of Yixing teapots, which include some of the same pieces and even arranged in a similar unusual asymmetrical manner as that seen here, was included in the exhibition The Art of Chen Hongshou, Painting, Calligraphy, Seal-Carving and Teapot-Design, The Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2005, cat. no. 4.1-4.8.

The introduction to the present album may be translated as follows:

The purple-sand type of Yixing pots began in the Northern Song Dynasty, but reached a florescence in the Southern Song. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there had already appeared a technique for etching inscriptions on these pots. And in the Ming Dynasty, the development of purple-sand pots had reached its ultimate ‘high tide.’ Among great masters of that time, most celebrated is Gongchun, the sole name to be transmitted from that era. There is a tradition that one small pot by Gongchun, after several decades of use, would reach a value of one bar of gold.

With the early Qing, there further appeared such great masters as Shi Dabin, Li Zhongfang and Xu Yuquan.During the years of the Kangxi through the Qianlong periods, the forms of the pots evolved from the ‘tendon-pattern’ type to natural forms. Among the great masters of this period one must include Chen Mingyuan and, slightly later than him, Chen Hongshou and Yang Pengnian collaborated on pots whose construction of forms, techniques for delineating pictures, and etching of inscriptions all melded together into a whole. The people of the time called these ‘Mansheng Pots,’ and at the time, there was a theory to the effect that there were Eighteen Forms of Mansheng Pots. The bottoms of these pots would for the most part be inscribed with the four characters A Man to shi and there would also be a seal of the characters Mansheng [Chen’s hao], or a seal of the two characters, Pengnian. A small number of them also employ a seal reading Sanglienli guan  (Studio of the Interlocking Mulberry Trees).

During the same time, other famed masters included Shao Daheng, Zhu Shimei and Qu Ziye, whose names resonated throughout the period.

The present album is designed to supplement the deficiency of materials available for the history of purple-sand pots, and I have thus collected here rubbings of examples merely to make up for the insufficiency of such treasures. And here I add this preface.

Inscribed by Changbai Shanren, Yanyu, with four seals of the artist.