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Lot Essay
The current rubbing is one of only two surviving examples known, and is exceptionally rare. The other example, mounted in album form, is in the collection of East Asian Art Museum in Cologne (inventory no. RA74.6). The current scroll depicts scenes of sericulture, and forms part of a set of two, with the other scroll Gengtu (Illustrations of Rice Planting) currently in a European collection.
In 1769 the Qianlong Emperor commissioned a set of 45 stone tablets to be carved following the Yuan version of Gengzhitu (Illustrations of Rice Planting and Weaving) painted by Cheng Qi, each accompanied by Qianlong's own calligraphic inscriptions. Chen Qi's version, in turn, follows closely the earlier version painted by Lou Chou in the Song Dynasty, illustrating 21 stages of the rice cultivation and 24 of the production of silk. The rubbings on the current scroll were taken from these stone tablets, and are therefore closest in style to the Song originals when compared to other Qing versions of these illustrations, such as the ones by court painter Jiao Bingzhen painted in the Kangxi period. It is not known how many copies of these rubbings were made, but from the scarcity of extant examples, we can assume probably very few. The tablets were originally stored in Yuanmingyuan but many were destroyed in 1860. The remaining 23 were moved to the residence of Xu Shichang, and are now in the National Museum of China. These rubbings are the only complete and faithful representations of the stone tablets that were damaged in conflict. The painting by Cheng Qi formerly in the Qing Court Collection is now in the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington.
In 1769 the Qianlong Emperor commissioned a set of 45 stone tablets to be carved following the Yuan version of Gengzhitu (Illustrations of Rice Planting and Weaving) painted by Cheng Qi, each accompanied by Qianlong's own calligraphic inscriptions. Chen Qi's version, in turn, follows closely the earlier version painted by Lou Chou in the Song Dynasty, illustrating 21 stages of the rice cultivation and 24 of the production of silk. The rubbings on the current scroll were taken from these stone tablets, and are therefore closest in style to the Song originals when compared to other Qing versions of these illustrations, such as the ones by court painter Jiao Bingzhen painted in the Kangxi period. It is not known how many copies of these rubbings were made, but from the scarcity of extant examples, we can assume probably very few. The tablets were originally stored in Yuanmingyuan but many were destroyed in 1860. The remaining 23 were moved to the residence of Xu Shichang, and are now in the National Museum of China. These rubbings are the only complete and faithful representations of the stone tablets that were damaged in conflict. The painting by Cheng Qi formerly in the Qing Court Collection is now in the Freer and Sackler Galleries in Washington.