Lot 106
106
AN IMPORTANT XI INKSTONE

SONG/YUAN DYNASTY

Details
AN IMPORTANT XI INKSTONE
Song/Yuan Dynasty
In the shape of a gourd, with gradually recessed rounded edges bordering the smooth, worn grinding area with a deeper inkwell at the top, the sloping underside carved with two small feet; with three covers, the first, a 13th or 14th century Chinese lacquered cover with a long inscription in seal script characters, juan xu, the second, also Chinese, 17th/18th century, of beautifully carved jichimu, and the third a Japanese Meiji lacquered cover painted with gilt flowers bordered by Daoist symbols
8in. (23cm.) long

Lot Essay

It is worth noting the care with which each successive collector, first in China, then in Japan, crafted a secondary cover in order to protect the earlier, more precious one. On the first cover, the missing characters prevent us from deciphering the inscription.