16TH-17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE INK REST
16TH-17TH CENTURY
The surface of the ink rest is cast with a three-character inscription, Wuyujue, enclosed within a plectrum-shaped medallion surrounded by two chilong, all raised on four columnar legs. A partially illegible four-character mark ?? zao zhi (made by ??) is cast on the back.
3 ½ in. (8.8 cm.) long

Provenance

Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong.

Literature

G.W. Bruce, Elegant Offerings from the Scholars Studio: the Jiansong Ge Collection, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 12, p. 39-41.

Exhibited

Hong Kong and London, Grace Wu Bruce, Elegant Offerings from the Scholars Studio: the Jiansong Ge Collection, 19 - 30 October 2002 and 7 - 15 November 2002, no.12.

Brought to you by

Michael Bass

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

Wuyujue, which literally means 'black jade ring-shaped pendant', was used to refer to a fine quality ink cake in classic Chinese literature.

The design of the present ink rest is likely inspired by the Wuyujue ink cake designed and published by Cheng Junfang, a scholar-turned-artist focusing on ink cake manufacturing, who was active during the Jiajing and Wanli periods (1522-1620). On the original ink cake design, the inscription on the front and back read miaopin (fine grade) and qiwan (curios).

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