QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Chengni inkstones are ceramic inkstones made of refined clay; it was considered the best inkstone material during Tang dynasty. The present lot is inspired by such, and the imperial poem on this ink cake is recorded in Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji: yuzhiwen, vol. 2, juan 39 (fig. 1). Compare to a similar imperial octagonal inkstone inscribed with a different poem but with same seals recorded in Xiqing Yanpu, included in The National Palace Museum's Ancient Inkstones Illustrated in the Imperial Catalogue Hsi-ch'ing yen-p'u, Taipei, 1997, pp. 414-415, no. 91. Another example of a Qianlong inscribed She inkstone was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3625.