Bonhams 1793 : An Imperial inscribed 'she' inkstone with hongmu box and cover Qianlong

An Imperially inscribed 'she' inkstone with hongmu box and cover Qianlong

24 Nov 2012 15:00 CST Hong Kong
A Private North American Collection of Scholar's Objects
Back to auction 20909

An Imperial inscribed 'she' inkstone with hongmu box and cover

Qianlong
The smooth dark stone concaved on one end and convex on the other, the central circular cartouche with raised sides surmounted by a series of carved kaishu inscriptions ending in a two-character zhuanshu seal mark, all enclosed within a similarly shaped hongmu box and cover, plainly decorated with slightly raised enclosure and corner feet.
17cm long. (3).

Sold for HK$ 187,500 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance 來源:
Private Japanese collection

The unique shape of the current lot derives from the Shiquge, or Stone Drain Pavilion, an Imperial Han dynasty book archive that was located in the north-western corner of the Weiyang Palace of the Western Han dynasty. According to the sanfu huangtu, or the 'Imperial Maps of the Three Metropolitan Areas', the library was fitted with a special drainage system, which is formed by stone tiles of the same shape.

Compare a very similar 'she' inkstone dated to the Qianlong period from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Four Treasures of the Study Writing Paper and Inkstones. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2005, p.135 no.89. See also another similar example dated to the Qianlong period, illustrated in Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series. Works of Decorative Arts II, Beijing, 2003, p.221, no.254. Compare also a Qianlong inscribed piece, illustrated in the Imperial Catalogue composed in 1778, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in The National Palace Museum's Ancient Inkstones Illustrated in the Imperial Catalogue Hsi-ch'ing yen-p'u, Taipei, 1997, p.410, pl.90.

清乾隆御製歙石乾隆御銘仿漢石渠閣瓦硯

歙石細膩溫潤，長方覆瓦形，穹起，石色黑中泛白，硯堂圓如滿月。硯首陰刻清高宗御題楷書硯銘：「其制維何，致之石渠，其用維何，承以方諸，研朱滴露潤有餘，文津閣鑒四庫書。乾隆禦銘」，後鈐一「征觀」篆文長方印。硯首壁刻硯名：「仿漢石渠閣瓦硯」。配紅木硯盒，硯盒內標籤上書「歙州石，昭□年六月九日，井上研山氏鑑定。」

石渠閣為西漢藏書閣，位於漢朝宮殿未央宮內。石渠閣內地下用石塊砌成渠道，用於排除積水，故此得名。該硯台硯面所刻詩文出自清乾隆《御製文集二集》，卷三十九。北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏中有一套乾隆御銘歙石硯，其中亦有一件仿漢石渠閣瓦硯，其石質較粗，但含細眉子紋，張淑芬編，《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：文房四寶紙硯》，香港，2005年，頁135，另見台北故宮博物院藏一件類似歙硯，帶紫檀木盒，並曾在乾隆四十三年編撰《西清硯譜》著錄，見《西清硯譜古硯特展》，國立故宮博物院，1997年，頁410，圖版90。