A DUAN MELON-FORM INKSTONE WITH BAMBOO BOX AND COVER

INKSTONE: QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY; BOX AND COVER: QING DYNASTY, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

INKSTONE DIAMETER 9.9CM;

BOX AND COVER DIAMETER 12.8CM

The circular inkstone is worked in the form of a lobed melon, borne on a gnarled stem issuing trefoil leaves and meandering curly tendrils in shallow relief wrapping around the sides and base and further extended to the flat top with a small attendant melon opposite a flying butterfly. Its pleasing naturalism is further accentuated by deliberately carved worm-eaten holes on the top. The stone is of an attractive dark purplish tone. The bamboo box and cover is of corresponding shape, with a bat perched atop the melon fruit and further attendant fruit and leaves adorning the sides. The top of the box is signed Haisan 海三 with a seal reading Zhu 朱

Zhu Haisan 朱海三 , sobriquet Sanxian 三仙 (act. 1796-1820), native of Jiangsu 江蘇, Suzhou, excelled at carving wood, bamboo, stone, bone, jade, and ivory.

Melons (gua) are symbols of fertility and prosperity, as multiple fruits grow on a single vine; while the butterfly signifies longevity as its character 蝶 (die) puns with the character 耋 which means the mighty age of eighty. Together the two form a homophone of guadie mianmian 瓜瓞綿綿 , which invokes the wish of ceaseless generations of descendants.