INCISED WANLI GUIWEI CYCLICAL DATE, CORRESPONDING TO 1583 AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

A MING CONFUCIUS-STYLE LACQUERED QIN
INCISED WANLI GUIWEI CYCLICAL DATE, CORRESPONDING TO 1583 AND OF THE PERIOD
The qin is of Confucius style, gracefully waisted along two ends of the body, the upper surface gently convex and inlaid with mother-of-pearl studs, hui. The underside has two rectangular sound holes, termed as the 'Dragon Pool' and the smaller as the 'Phoenix Pond'. The name of the qin is incised above the 'Dragon Pool', Xi Quan, 'Spring Creek', followed by an inscription in running script and a seal, Longsheng. Underneath the 'Dragon Pool' aperture to the right is carved, Wanli guiwei zhongqiu jidan, 'on an auspicious day of the eighth month of guiwei cylical year of Wanli period (1583)', and to the left, Guhang Li Cangwu zhi, 'Made by Li Cangwu of Hangzhou'. The instrument strings are threaded through seven taselled hardwood tuning pegs, zhen. Each string is arranged over the upper surface and tied to either of the two hardwood pegs, yanzu, 'Wild Geese Feet'. The lacquer surfaces are suffused with fine snake-belly cracks.
47 3/4 in. (121.3 cm.) long, brocade carrying case

Provenance

Nakamura Kouma, acquired prior to 1928
Shugetsu-sai, Japan, acquired after 2000

Brought to you by

Ruben Lien

chinese@christies.com +852 2760 1766

Lot Essay

Compare to a Confucius-style lacquered qin also bearing the signature of Li Cangwu sold at Christie's Paris, 11 June 2014, lot 40.

The inscription on the back of the qin is followed by a seal, Longsheng, which may be the seal of Tu Long (1543-1605), a late-Ming writer and dramatist. Comparison of the calligraphy style of the inscription on this qin and fan leaves by Tu Long reveals close similarity. Longsheng is also the pseudonym of scholar-official Shen Yinfang (active circa late Ming), who passed the jinshi level of the Civil Services Examination in 1628, thought it seems more likely that the signature belongs to Tu Long given his expertise in music and the similar calligraphy style.

The current qin was in the collection of Nakamura Kouma (dates unknown) prior to 1928 and was recently acquired by the current owner Shugetsu-sai in Kyoto. Shugetsu-sai studied after renowned qin masters Sakata Shinichi in Tokyo and Wang Di in Beijing, and held a public performance using the current qin at the exhibition Shuzan Hakugen-ten at the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in 2014.

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