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Precious Inkstone from the West
'With the sum of six million a year, in exchange for this stone from Linyao' - Yuan Haowen writing in the 13th century
Yaohe stone was one of the most admired materials for grinding ink in the minds of the Chinese literati, and was treasured from as early as the Tang Dynasty. It was mined from the depth of the riverbed of Linyao River (hence the name Yaohe), which was notoriously treacherous and deep. Furthermore the area, now in modern day Gansu province in west China, was often under the control of nomadic tribes, which made the availability of the stone unreliable. It was therefore extremely expensive in the Song period particularly when the area was mostly out of the court's control. In 1072, the Northern Song general Wang Shao (1030-1081) successfully conquered the area briefly, which he used as a strategic outpost against the Xixia army. The maintenance of this far flung fortress cost the government in the tune of some six million taels of silver a year. The calligrapher Huang Tingjian inscribed on one of his Yaohe inkstones that:
'General Wang conquered Linyao for our country, every year the Government sent six million (taels of silver) to the place, but the only useful thing we get from it is this inkstone.'
Indeed, in the Northern Song period, the Yaohe stone was exclusively reserved for the court and the wealthy because of its scarcity, and was sent as tribute to the court. It was a legendary stone that many had heard of but few had access. Zhao Xihu, a well-known painting connoisseur, wrote in the 12th century that:
'Apart from Duan and She stones, the green stone from Yaohe is especially valued in the North. It is green like indigo; lustrous like jade. It can grind ink as well as the best of Duan. However, it can only be found in the depth of the Great Linyao river, and not easily obtained by human endeavor - it is a valueless treasure when one can get hold of it.'
Critics of inkstones believe that, since Yaohe stone was immersed in the water deep under river, its natural moisture makes grinding ink very easy. The mining of the stone reached a zenith in the Ming Dynasty but since then there was a sharp decline which subsequently made early Yaohe stones very rare. Although several Yaohe inkstones have been recorded in the imperial catalogue of inkstones, Xiqing Yanpu, none are in the National Palace Museum collection. Only a few originally from the Qing Court Collection are now in the Palace Museum in Beijing, such as the ones illustrated in The Four Treasures of the Study - Writing Paper and Inkstones, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the National Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2005, no. 21, p. 33 (decorated with Luohan and dated Song by the researchers) and no. 96, p. 143-145 (decorated with a scene of Tao Yuanming and considered a Song period Duan stone by the Qianlong emperor, but catalogued as Yaohe and dated to the Qianlong period by the researchers).
There are three Yaohe inkstones in the Su Zhu An Collection, all of them decorated with the subject of the Lanting Gathering, the literary event famously recorded by Wang Xizhi in the spring of AD 353. The decorative scheme is comparable on all three inkstones, albeit with certain stylistic variations. The top of the inkstone is carved with a pavilion beside a stream- cleverly hollowed as the water well, sometimes with geese swimming in it. The sides are decorated with scholars carrying with cups of wine and engaged in leisure activities by a river detailed with lotus leaves. The hollowed backs are decorated with more geese - a bird closely associated with Wang Xizhi. This decorative scheme seems to be a convention for these 'Lanting' inkstones, and several examples have been recorded such as the one in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in bid, no. 19, p. 27-31; and several in Komeiken, Tokyo, 1974, pls. 1-62. There are two further examples included in the Su Zhu An Collection offered in the current sale, lots 3254 and 3255. A Duan inkstone in a Japanese private collection (fig. 1), carved with an inscription by the Qianlong Emperor and recorded in Xiqing Yanpu, also follows this decorative scheme. These have all been traditionally dated to the Song period by the respective researchers of the catalogues.
These inkstones are very possibly inspired by handscrolls depicting a gathering of this same theme such as the one by the Northern Song painter Li Gonglin, whose painting has been preserved in rubbing form from stone carvings (fig. 2 and 3). A Yuan period mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer tiered box (fig. 3) is also decorated with this design, and follows more faithfully the depiction on the handscroll than do those on the inkstones. The figures on both the Li Gonglin scroll and the mother-of-pearl lacquer box appear more static, sitting on mats; while the figures on the current inkstones are quite animated, with much more movement and engaging in various activities. Lot 3255 shows a scholar with his feet in the stream, a scene reminiscent of that on a carved lacquer dish dated to the Yuan period, formerly in the Lee Family Collection and sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 Dec 2009, lot 1811. And the figures on lot 3256 are wearing hats that have only become fashionable in the Ming period (fig. 5), and would be unlikely to date earlier than Ming.
It is very difficult to put a definitive date on these inkstones. The fact that some of these inkstones traditionally were dated to the Song period in the 18th century, as the example in the Xiqing Yanpu indicates, shows that they were thought to be antiques at the time. But it is obvious from their stylistic idiosyncrasies that at least some of them should be dated later. They should be viewed in a wider cultural context that have grown around the Lanting Gathering, an utopic event which has clearly resonated with the Chinese literati all through the ages, and which has given rise not only to the creation of these inkstones, but also the repeated transcription of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, the various versions of pictorial depictions, related poetry and other works of art of different media. As such, these precious inkstones from a remote area in the west of China are not only considered valuable accompaniment on a scholar's desk due to their status as a rare commodity that were once exclusively reserved for the Song Court, they are also works of art that had inspired many generations in a longing for the ultimate ideal in the scholar's mind.
宋/明 洮河石蘭亭修褉圖硯
SONG/MING DYNASTY (960-1644)
細節
長方形。硯面及硯側淺雕蘭亭修褉圖，硯面鏤雕小橋流水作墨池。硯背呈斜坡狀，浮雕群鵝嬉戲於水中及岸上。硯石深豆綠色。附木座、木蓋、日本木盒。此硯著錄於1974年東京出版《古名硯．洮河綠石》，圖版52號。（圖一）
來源
Su Zhu An Collection, Kyoto
出版
鸚鵡化石，西來寶硯
「舊聞鸚鵡曾化石，不數鸊鷉能螢刀，縣官歲費六百萬，才得此硯來臨洮。」金 元好問
洮河石是中國文人珍愛的硯材，也是在端、歙、澄泥外最負盛名的四大名硯之一，自唐宋以來就被藏家寶藏。洮河石產於臨洮大河深處，水勢湍急，開採極為不易，且產地處西域甘肅一帶，常被周圍的遊牧民族所占領，故貨源非常不穩定。在宋朝時，此地區常在朝廷控制之外，故而特別名貴。熙寧五年（1072年）宋將王韶成功攻下臨洮，以此為據對付西夏軍隊，宋王室經營這個邊陲要塞所費，每年高達六百萬両銀子。北宋書法家黃庭堅就曾題字在自己的一方洮河硯上說：王將軍為國開臨洮，有司歲饋，所會者六百萬于其中，國得用者，此硯材也。
北宋時，洮河硯是王室與貴族才能享用的稀有硯材，也是進貢的珍品，更是名聞遐邇卻難得一見的寶貝。趙希就在《洞天清錄》中記載：除端、歙二石外，惟洮河綠石，北方最珍貴，綠如藍，潤如玉，發墨不減端溪下岩。然石在臨洮大河深水之底，非人力所致，得之為無價之寶。耆舊相傳，雖知有洮硯。但目所未睹。
評硯者認為洮河硯細潤如玉，發墨快，蓄墨久而乾，因長年處於深水之中，呵之即能出水。石材的採掘在明代時到達顛峰，之後少有生產，故洮河老硯十分珍貴。《西清硯譜》所記載的幾方洮河硯，臺北故宮博物院中未見收藏，而北京也僅見幾方屬清宮舊藏：一方定為宋朝的御題應真渡海洮河硯，著錄於故宮博物院藏珍品全集《文房四寶．紙硯》，香港2005年，21號，33頁；一方則是被乾隆誤認為綠端石的洮河歸去來辭硯，著錄於同書中的96號，143頁。
蘇竹庵收藏三方洮河硯，皆以蘭亭集會為題材。三件的裝飾皆有異曲同工之處，硯面高浮雕一亭臺，中有人物憑欄而望，亭外河水巧開為硯池，其中偶有鵝隻戲水；硯四邊淺刻通景文人行樂圖，一旁曲水流淌，上有荷葉飄浮，承載酒杯；硯底淘膛，浮雕鵝群嬉戲圖。這種設計似乎是這些蘭亭硯的慣例，有幾件相似的例子，如北京故宮博物院所藏的一方，著錄於前書中，19號，27-31頁；及包括本次拍品3254及3255號，著錄於東京二玄社出版的巨著《古名硯》中的幾方洮河蘭亭硯；還有曾經在《西清硯譜》著錄，現藏於日本私人收藏的一方端石蘭亭硯（圖一、二），著錄於《昭和癸丑蘭亭展圖錄》，二玄社，大阪，1973年，82頁。這些當時都被學者斷為宋代作品。
這些硯台上的裝飾靈感很可能是來自於畫上。北宋畫家李公麟就曾作過一蘭亭集會手卷，現在以拓本的形式流傳下來（圖三、四）。一件元代黑漆嵌螺鈿的蓋盒，著錄於《螺鈿 — 虹色に輝く貝と漆の芸術》，德川美術館，東京，1999年，11號，20-21頁，上面也有類似的裝飾，而且比硯台上的裝飾更接近拓本的風格。
拓本跟漆盒上的人物均端坐蒲團之上，不像硯台上的人物或坐或立，充滿了動態，有的手舞足蹈，有的高談闊論，姿態百出。拍品3255號上一個人物坐在岸邊滌足，與李氏家族舊藏的一件元代剔紅漆盤上所雕的人物有相近之處。拍品3256號的人物則頭戴飄飄巾—一種在明朝才開始流行的帽子，所以不太可能是明朝以前的作品。
這幾件洮河硯的斷代頗為困難。乾隆時，相似的作品在《西清硯譜》裡已被定為宋代，表示他們在當時被認定是古物。但是從風格的差異及細節的處理上看來，有一些的年代絕不會早過明朝。我們應該以更宏觀的文化角度審視他們，認知他們是從蘭亭集會上衍生出來，寄託文人理想的作品。這不僅止於這些硯台，還包括對王羲之書法的反覆臨摹；對蘭亭集會的一再描繪，還有詩詞的創作及其他材質上所見的各種蘭亭題材的作品。因此，這些硯台的貴重之處，不只因為他們曾是宋朝王室專用的硯材，更因為他們是能激發文人心中高潔情操的藝術作品。