INKSTONE: HAN DYNASTY (202BC-220CE);
BOX AND COVER: QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG MARK AND OF THE PERIOD
(1735-1796)
DIAMETER OF INKSTONE: 17CM;
DIAMETER OF BOX AND COVER: 17.8CM
The inkstone is converted from the reverse of a Han dynasty eaves
roof tile end. The roof tile is decorated and moulded in recess with
four-characters reading Qianqiu wansui 千 秋萬歲 (“Thousand Autumns
Myriad Years”) in seal script within a thin band.
As a further tribute to archaism, the surface of the box is dusted
with specks of malachite to emulate the encrustation of ageing
bronzes. The cover and base of the box were inlaid in
mother-of-pearl with a corresponding inscription reading Han qianqiu
wansui wayan 漢千秋萬歲瓦研[ 硯] (“Han Dynasty Thousand Autumns
Myriad Years Tile-End Inkstone”), followed by two seals reading Qian
乾 and Long 隆.
As an avid collector of antiquities and patron of the arts, the
Qianlong Emperor was known to make notable commissions of scholar’s
objects with reverence to the Han culture. Inscribed circular
roof-end tiles (also known as eaves tiles) were prolific during the
Han dynasty. These rustic, yet somewhat quaint bygones seemed to
have fascinated connoisseurs centuries thereafter. Many were
reworked and endowed with renewed function as inkstones and mirrors
during the Tang and Song dynasties. Such fashion continued into the
18th century, as some of these resuscitated objects of history were
further embellished with elaborate boxes and covers upon their
acquisition by the Qing court, as evident from the imperial records
during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods.
A close example preserved in its original tile form is illustrated
in Inscriptions and Sculptures. The Complete Collection of Treasures
of the Palace Museum 銘刻與雕塑 故 宮博物院藏文物珍品全集, Hong
Kong, 2008, p. 48, Catalogue No. 53. Another Han tiled inkstone
without a covered box from the imperial collection is illustrated in
the National Palace Museum’s Wenfang Juying (Volume 1 of 2)
國立故宮博物院文房聚英（全 一冊）圖版篇, Taipei, 1993, pp. 6-7,
Catalogue No. 3. Lacquered inkstone boxes with similar crushed inlay
are also known, see one inlaid in mother-of-pearl from the Nanjing
Museum, published in Zhongguo Wenfang Sibao Quanji Volume 2:
Inkstones 中國文房 四寶全集2：硯, Beijing, 2007, p. 131, Catalogue
No. 139.
| 漢 「千秋萬歲」瓦當硯 及 |
| 清乾隆 | 御賞黑漆嵌螺鈿孔雀石寶盒 |
| 「千秋萬歲」「漢千秋萬歲瓦硯」款 | |
| 「乾」「隆」印 |
