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"An Immortal old man planted a jade fungus,
From it harvested something purple and glistening.
Grinding ink as dark as the whale's blood,
Shaped like the hoof of a heavenly stallion.
Its luster is comparable to the moon,
Its purity like the stream in the clouds.
I am afraid the devil will rob it off me,
So I carry it, even when travelling in the mountains."
-Zheng Kui writing in the Song Dynasty
Su Zhu An is the studio name of Mr. Sakamoto Goro, renowned antique dealer in Japan. His collection of inkstones has a scholarly and antiquarian flavour, most of them in Song and Yuan styles. The three Taohe inkstones in the collection are decorated with two classic subjects commonly found on these inkstones, - first is of luohan crossing the sea (lot3182; second is the depiction of the Lanting Gathering (lots 3183 and 3184). The 'Luohan' inkstone is carved and incised in shallow relief with a continuous scene on the four sides with the Eighteen Luohan crossing the sea. It is comparable to the oval inkstone dated to the Song dynasty in the Palace Museum, Beijing (fig. 1), and the example dated to the Ming dynasty in the Tianjin Municipal Museum (fig. 2). The hollowed, sloping underside is carved in shallow relief with clouds against a ground incised with waves, as if one is observing the waves in the sky through clouds. The wave design can be compared to the Painting of Water by Ma Yuan of the Song Dynasty, which is a study of various wave forms. The other two 'Lanting ' inkstones adhere to a similar decorative scheme, both the top of the inkstones are 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 engaged in leisure activities by a river, on which lotus leaves float, carrying cups of wine. The hollowed back are decorated with more geese. These could be compared to several inkstones of the same theme from the Su Zhu An Collection, sold in Christie's Hong Kong 27 November 2013, lots 3254-3256.
Apart from Taohe, two other types of stones of equal renown as material for inkstones are Duan and She. Two 'Lanting' Duan inkstones in the current sale, lots 3185 and 3186, are carved with similar subject to the Taohe inkstones mentioned previously. However, the hollowed back is inscribed with Preface to the Lanting Gathering in cursive script, showing a different interpretation to the same subject by craftsmen working with different materials.
Bird and flower painting is a notable genre in the Song period. The Court style painting in the early Song period are dominated by painters from the western Shu area in Sichuan, in particular Huang Quan (903-965) and his son, whose meticulous and luxuriant style was very influential in the Court.
As Huang Quan's subjects were mostly rare and expensive specimens of flowers and birds in the Palace, his paintings won the accolade 'the rich style of Huang family', and became the standard when recruiting painters for the painting Academy. The Duan instone in the current sale, lot 3181 is carved with a rare purple 'partridge feather' stone with pale green inclusions. The centre of the inkstone has a peach-shaped grinding surface, sloping towards the tip of the fruit as the ink well. It is carved and incised with two long-tail birds and periwinkle blossoms, in the style of Song bird and flower painting, and was published in the seminal work on inkstones Komaiken.
Another Duan inkstone in the collection, carved with a dragon in the ink well (lot 3196) is very similar to an inkstone in the Guangdong Provincial Museum (fig.3) inscribed with Xuande Neifu Baocang (Treasured in the Court of Xuande). They were probably dated to the same period and made by the same workshop. There is a character san (three) on the underside of the inkstone.
The green stone of Taohe and the purple stone of Duan have been variously alluded to as the petrification of parrots, and jade transformed from purple clouds. The ancients harvested these fine natural stones and refined them with ingenious craftsmanship. The examples here show the unique eye of the collector who selected them.
THE SU ZHU AN COLLECTION OF CHINESE INKSTONES
(LOTS 3181-3198)
A RECTANGULAR INSCRIBED DUAN INKSTONE
SONG-MING DYNASTY (960-1644)
Details
A RECTANGULAR INSCRIBED DUAN INKSTONE
SONG-MING DYNASTY (960-1644)
The rectangular inkstone is carved on top with a palette and inkwell in the shape of a peach, with a bird perching on either end. One vertical side is carved with a collector's signature attributing to Danqiusheng, the legendary Daoist immortal. The recessed base is carved with a four-character inscription, signed Mi Fu, and followed by a seal, Yuan Zhang. The purple stone is scattered with natural olive-green eyes and light brown striations.
6 1/2 in. (16.6 cm.) long, lacquered Hongmu stand and cover, fitted wood box, Japanese wood box
SONG-MING DYNASTY (960-1644)
The rectangular inkstone is carved on top with a palette and inkwell in the shape of a peach, with a bird perching on either end. One vertical side is carved with a collector's signature attributing to Danqiusheng, the legendary Daoist immortal. The recessed base is carved with a four-character inscription, signed Mi Fu, and followed by a seal, Yuan Zhang. The purple stone is scattered with natural olive-green eyes and light brown striations.
6 1/2 in. (16.6 cm.) long, lacquered Hongmu stand and cover, fitted wood box, Japanese wood box
Provenance
Su Zhu An Collection, Kyoto
Literature
Komaiken: Tankei, vol. II, Tokyo, 1977, Catalogue, nos. 35-36
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