INCISED QIANLONG MARK AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

AN IMPERIAL INSCRIBED DUAN INKSTONE IN ZITAN BOX AND COVER
incised qianlong mark and of the period
The top of the stone carved with the flat undecorated central roundel within a narrow trough and the rim with horses and fish heads amidst swirling waves, the reverse with a six-line inscription with two seals and one side with a further seven characters, the cover of the finely grained wood box inlaid with a protruding oblong hexagonal milk-white jade tablet carved with four symmetrical stylized zoomorphic scrolls reminiscent of a shou character, the interior lacquered, lacquer flaked, minor rim chip to stone, age crack repaired
4½in. (11cm.) wide

Lot Essay

The seven-character inscription reads: Fang tang baleng chengni yan, 'In emulation of a Tang (dynasty) refined clay octagonal inkstone'.
The text at the reverse reads: 'In truth the Four Cardinal Points and the Four Diagonals could be called an octagonal bi. The central circle is (as if) surrounded by a huan of water. Both the inner and outer parts are imbued with profound significance. The style follows the refined clay (inkstones) of the Tang, although in reality (the stone) comes from the ancient mines of Duanxi.
Inscribed to Imperial command in the Qianlong period'.
The seals read 'De' and 'Run'.

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