Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Length of Fan: 32.1cm
The boxwood fan frame is carved on one side with a bamboo root sprouting shoots and leaves issuing from a smooth handle. The reverse is similarly decorated with the gnarled stem of a flowering prunus branch. The ribs of the fan are fashioned from thin planks of unpolished hardwood.
The fine carving of the fan can be attributed to the famous wood and ivory carver from the late Qing dynasty by the name of Zhou Yi 周義of Changsha. A similar ivory fan frame example with the artist’s signature is illustrated in Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, Catalogue No. 58.
The fan is inscribed with a poem by Pan Boying 潘伯鷹 (1903/4 － 1966), which reads:
| 靜極虛廊月轉明 | On the utterly still and empty veranda the moon rolls out brilliance, |
| 何方孤島訊田横 | So where’s the lonely island where I might ask after Tian Heng? |
| 傾懐碧海疑同瀉 | Though I pour out heart-felt grief in a torrent equal to the azure sea, |
| 入夢瓊花儼對生 | Blossoms of immortality enter my dreams, in majestic contrast to my actual life. |
| 左計廟堂餘綜覈 | The inept plans of the imperial court, I now examine them all, |
| 霸才亭館有凄清 | I with my hegemon’s talents in this lofty hall full of lonely grief. |
| 春寒特地驅風吼 | The chill this spring’s especially makes the wind’s howl race— |
| 待揭重簾手恐輕 | I should raise the heavy curtains against it but fear my hand is too weak. |
| 錄李俠老仁丈鑒誟 | “Recorded for the scrutiny and criticism of kind elder Li Xia” |
The fan is signed Boying 伯鷹 with a seal which reads Pan Boying yin 潘伯鷹印 “Seal of Pan Boying”.
PROVENANCE
Master of the Water, Pine & Stone Retreat
Published in
Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 62-63, Catalogue No 25.
| 清代 傳周義製黃楊木雕鏤空梅竹雙清折扇 |
