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Lot Essay
The rectangular seal is surmounted by a flat finial carved with two confronting chi dragons, each with a single horn and bifurcated tail. The seal is carved with six characters in seal script, An Yizhou jia zhencang ‘Seal of the family of An Yizhou’.
The inscription on the current seal indicates it was used as the personal seal of An Qi (1683-1745?), who was perhaps the most prominent art collector throughout the entire Qing dynasty. An Qi, also known as An Yizhou by his pseudonym, was a native Korean who followed his father to Beijing in his early years, serving as a tributary diplomat. He became a trusted aide of the powerful statesman Mingju at the Kangxicourt, and was granted the right to conduct salt business in Tianjin and Yangzhou, through which he amassed enormous amount of wealth, allowing him to form one of the most extensive and formidable art collections in Chinese history.
His collection of paintings and calligraphy encompasses some of the most well-known masterpieces such as A Letter to Boyuan by Wang Xun. After An Qi’s demise, his family fortune diminished considerably, with a majority of his art collection acquired by the Qianlong Emperor, many items from which are illustrated in Shiqu Baoji (Catalogue of the Qing Imperial Collection).
The current seal impression can be found on a long list of masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy, including Pingfu tie by Lu Ji, Western Jin dynasty, Ode to an Expedition by Suo Jing, Western Jin dynasty, both in the Palace Museum, Beijing; Chu Suiliang's copy of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, Tang dynasty; Yan Zhenqing’s Couplets from the Bamboo Mountain Study of the Pan Family, Tang dynasty; Zhan Ziqian’s Spring Outing, Sui dynasty; Dong Yuan’s Landscape of the Xiao Xiang Rivers, Five Dynasties; Huaisu’s Scroll of Bitter Bamboo Shoots, Tang dynasty, and Gao Xian’s Scroll of Thousand-Character Classic in Cursive Script, Tang dynasty, both in the Shanghai Museum; Gu Kaizhi’s Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies, Eastern Jin dynasty at the British Museum; Han Gan’s Night-Shining White, Tang dynasty, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Huang Tingjian’s Poem on the Hall of Pines and Wind, A Letter on Floral Fragrances, and Epistle to Seventh Brother Yunfu, Northern Song dynasty, all in the National Palace Museum, Taipei; and Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing at the Liaoning Provincial Museum.
The inscription on the current seal indicates it was used as the personal seal of An Qi (1683-1745?), who was perhaps the most prominent art collector throughout the entire Qing dynasty. An Qi, also known as An Yizhou by his pseudonym, was a native Korean who followed his father to Beijing in his early years, serving as a tributary diplomat. He became a trusted aide of the powerful statesman Mingju at the Kangxicourt, and was granted the right to conduct salt business in Tianjin and Yangzhou, through which he amassed enormous amount of wealth, allowing him to form one of the most extensive and formidable art collections in Chinese history.
His collection of paintings and calligraphy encompasses some of the most well-known masterpieces such as A Letter to Boyuan by Wang Xun. After An Qi’s demise, his family fortune diminished considerably, with a majority of his art collection acquired by the Qianlong Emperor, many items from which are illustrated in Shiqu Baoji (Catalogue of the Qing Imperial Collection).
The current seal impression can be found on a long list of masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy, including Pingfu tie by Lu Ji, Western Jin dynasty, Ode to an Expedition by Suo Jing, Western Jin dynasty, both in the Palace Museum, Beijing; Chu Suiliang's copy of Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, Tang dynasty; Yan Zhenqing’s Couplets from the Bamboo Mountain Study of the Pan Family, Tang dynasty; Zhan Ziqian’s Spring Outing, Sui dynasty; Dong Yuan’s Landscape of the Xiao Xiang Rivers, Five Dynasties; Huaisu’s Scroll of Bitter Bamboo Shoots, Tang dynasty, and Gao Xian’s Scroll of Thousand-Character Classic in Cursive Script, Tang dynasty, both in the Shanghai Museum; Gu Kaizhi’s Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies, Eastern Jin dynasty at the British Museum; Han Gan’s Night-Shining White, Tang dynasty, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Huang Tingjian’s Poem on the Hall of Pines and Wind, A Letter on Floral Fragrances, and Epistle to Seventh Brother Yunfu, Northern Song dynasty, all in the National Palace Museum, Taipei; and Lady Guoguo's Spring Outing at the Liaoning Provincial Museum.