A DUAN DOUBLE-SIDED ‘GOOSE’ INKSTONE WITH ZITAN BOX AND COVER

QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

INKSTONE LENGTH: 20.2CM; BOX AND COVER LENGTH: 22.2CM

This rare, pebble-shaped, double-sided inkstone is exquisitely worked on both sides, with the front face modelled in the form of a recumbent goose with its curved neck elegantly curled backward forming a deep elliptical cavity under its gentle neck folds. Its knopped head resting on its back and nestled amongst its wings barely visible and finely detailed with plumage. The reverse of the inkstone is worked in low relief on the bottom right corner with a young gosling in a similar pose. The natural olive-green eyelets of the purplish brown stone, one on each side of the inkstone and in different positions, are skilfully incorporated into the design forming the geese’s eyes. The bottom edge of the inkstone is engraved in seal script with a collector’s mark reading Nanfu wushi nian hou suo cang zhi yan 南阜五十年後所藏之研[硯] (“Inkstone Collected by Nanfu after the age of fifty”), followed by a seal of Gao Fenghan 高鳳翰 (1683-1749). The well-patinated zitan box and cover is of conforming shape and resembles a grain of rice, the interior is lacquered.

Gao Fenghan 高鳳翰 (1683-1749), personal name Xiyuan 西園 , sobriquet Nancun 南村 , called himself Nanfu shanren 南阜山人 . A native of Jiaozhou 膠州 , Shandong, he later moved to Yangzhou, Jiangsu, where he established himself as a major painter of landscapes, flowers and plants. He was associated with the Yangzhou school of painters, who were known for their eccentric and individualist style in painting. However, sometime in his fifties he lost the use of his right hand but taught himself to use his left. As a revered collector of inkstones and other scholarly objects, he also published a book on the connoisseurship of appreciating inkstones entitled Yanshi 硯史 [A history of inkstones].

Geese as a subject for inkstone is particularly symbolic, for they had long been associated with the celebrated calligrapher Wang Xizhi 王羲之 (303-361) who had reputedly drawn inspiration for his work from observing the graceful movements of geese necks.

SIMILAR EXAMPLES

Quarried in Guangdong and worked in Suzhou and Beijing, Duan stones were hailed as one of the most revered materials for producing inkstones as their smooth surface allowed for optimal grinding of ink without damaging the brushes. Bird-form inkstones had their roots in the Song dynasty and were actively revived during the 18th Century. Compare a Song-dynasty chengni inkstone bearing a Su Shi (1037-1101) and Qianlong (1736-95) mark, published in Illustrated Important Chinese Cultural Relics Ranking Standard: Scholar’s Object 文物藏品定級標準圖例：文房 用具卷, Beijing, 2008, pl. 70; and a closely related Qianlong example with a Sanxitang 三希堂 (“Hall of the Three Rarities”) inscription, sold in Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4th October 2011, lot 1915.

A well-known Laoshan Stone scholar’s rock in the collection of the Shanghai Museum with Gao Fenghan’s inscription is published in A l’ombre des pins: Chefs d’oeuvre d’art chinois du musée de Shanghai, 2004, pp. 198-199, Catalogue No. 102.

PROVENANCE

Collection of Gao Fenghan 高鳳翰 (1683-1749)

A Japanese Private Collection, Osaka

清十八世紀      雙面端石寶鵝硯