AN UNUSUAL CARVED AND INSCRIBED DUAN INKSTONE

Details

AN UNUSUAL CARVED AND INSCRIBED DUAN INKSTONE
LATE MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

Of rectangular form, finely carved with dragons amidst waves in a narrow band around the palette, dipping downwards on the top and carved with the moon detailed by an 'eye' of greenish-yellow tone surrounded by wispy clouds, one vertical side incised with a long poem, followed by the characters, Zheng Ming ming, 'Inscribed (by) Zheng Ming', and the corresponding side with three seals of the artist, the hollowed base carved in high relief with eight cylinders of varying heights, each centred with an 'eye' and surrounded by clouds
6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) long, jade-inset wood cover, Japanese wood box

Provenance

A Japanese private collection

Lot Essay

The inscription, a poetic summary of the dragon and clouds design of the present inkstone, is after text written by the famous Ming literati painter and calligrapher, Wen Zhenming (1470-1559). The three seals on one vertical side read: Ting Yun, Wen Zhenming's studio name; Heng Shan, Wen's sobriquet, and Zheng Ming.

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