Ming Dynasty, 16th Century
Length: 19.5cm
Weight: 132 grams
The bronze ladle handle is cast in the shape of a thin bamboo reed,
with silver inlay on the nodes and gilding along the joints. Gilt
bamboo leaves flank the back of the ladle, issuing a cluster of
lingzhis finely enhanced with silver inlay. The base of the handle
has a six-character mark incised in archaic script that reads 雲間[
北] 背竹石芝 “Amidst clouds I carry bamboos, rocks and lingzhi on my
back”. The clouds allude to the steam that surfaces from the ladle
when it is filled with hot liquid.
The bronze is patinated to a deep caramel tone.
Similar Example
A parcel-gilt ladle example is published in Arts From the Scholar’s
Studio, Hong Kong,1986, p. 232-233, Catalogue No. 220.
| 明十六世紀 銅鎏金錯金銀竹枝雲紋銅勺 |
| 「雲間竹背石芝」字款 |
