Lot Essay
The short inscription on the cover: An xian fu dong yue huang hun, 'A hint of fragrance floating in eventide', is an excerpt from a poem written by Lin Hejing of the Northern Song period.
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Details
A VERY FINE AND RARE SMALL WIRE-INLAID ZITAN INKSTONE AND COVER
18TH CENTURY
The inkstone of rectangular form, the sunken smooth grinding area contained within a frame finely inlaid with wire, the upper surface of the borders depicting palmettes and each of the longer vertical sides with a sinuous dragon, the underside delicately carved in relief with flowering prunus against a diaper-ground and framed within a border inlaid with a key-fret pattern, bearing a three-character maker's mark, Xuansu zhi, the fitted cover with a short inscription (some losses to inlay)
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) across
18TH CENTURY
The inkstone of rectangular form, the sunken smooth grinding area contained within a frame finely inlaid with wire, the upper surface of the borders depicting palmettes and each of the longer vertical sides with a sinuous dragon, the underside delicately carved in relief with flowering prunus against a diaper-ground and framed within a border inlaid with a key-fret pattern, bearing a three-character maker's mark, Xuansu zhi, the fitted cover with a short inscription (some losses to inlay)
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm.) across