AN INSCRIBED AND DATED DUAN RECTANGULAR INKSTONE

POSSIBLY SONG DYNASTY

Details

AN INSCRIBED AND DATED DUAN RECTANGULAR INKSTONE
Possibly Song Dynasty
Of dark purplish-brown color with two small olive-toned "eyes" in the grinding surface which ends in an arched upper edge beside the well at one end, one of the deep sides well carved with a lengthy inscription in kaishu, the other side with a twelve-character inscription in one line above a seal, the underside cut with a deep, curved channel from which projects a truncated column, one of the two eyes in the underside highlighted within a raised medallion
6 13/16in. (17.2cm.) long, wood cover and stand, box

Lot Essay

The twelve-character inscription dates the inkstone to the third month in the Spring of the renwu year of Jiajing (corresponding to 1522), and bears the name of Yang Yiqing (1454-1530), a Prime Minister during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. The lengthier inscription praises the quality of the inkstone and mentions that it is a gift from Mr. Wu

Compare the inkstone of similar type and shape, with multiple eyes highlighted by cylindrical posts, illustrated by Wan Yi, Daily Life in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 1988, p. 225, no. 340