19TH CENTURY

Details

TWO SOAPSTONE SEALS
19TH CENTURY
Each seal is carved around the sides with a continuous scene of a pavallion set in a landscape. One seal face is carved with two characters, Song Ting (The Pine Hall). The other seal is carved on one side with an inscription, Hui Shu fang Lao Jiang (Hui Shu imitates Lao Jiang), and on the seal face with Liu Xian zhi yin (Seal of Liu Xian).
2 3⁄4 in. (6.6 cm.) high

Literature

Qian Juntao, Zhao Zhiqian, Zhejiang, 1987, nos. 145 and 146 (seal impression and rubbing).
Gao Huimin and Wang Bing, Zhao Zhiqian Yinpu, vol.2, 2007, no. 10 and 18 (seal impression and rubbing).
Qi Yuan, Zhao Zhiqian Biannian Yinpu, 2008, p. 201, nos. 93 and 94 (seal impression and rubbing).

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Zhao Zhiqian (1829-1884) was trained in poetry, calligraphy, painting as well as seal carving since his teenage years. It was because of his holistic studies in art that Zhao was able to achieve innovative skills in carving naturalistic details on his seals. Zhao carved less than 400 seals in his entire career, but his masterly-rendered works made a significant impact on an entire generation of seal carvers in the Late Qing dynasty.

Besides a career in art, Zhao passed the imperial examination at the age of 31. Later in 1872, he was sent to Jiangxi province to become the editor of Jiangxi tong zhi (General Encyclopedia of Jiangxi), and held the title of Zhixian (County magistrate), a seventh rank civil official, in the counties of Fanyang, Fengxin, and Nancheng among others.

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