Beschreibung:

Details
A VERY RARE IMPERIAL INSCRIBED CHENGNI TIGER-FORM INK STONE AND COVER, ZITAN STAND AND COVER
DATED TO THE WUXU YEAR OF THE QIANLONG REIGN, CORRESPONDING TO 1778, AND OF THE PERIOD
The ink stone and cover are moulded as a crouching tiger, the recessed underside of the cover is inscribed with a Qianlong imperial poem dated to the summer of the wuxu year (1778), followed by two seals, bide, ‘comparing to virtue’, langrun, ‘bright and lustrous’, both covered with mottled green and gilt patination. The zitan stand and cover are finely carved overall as a ribbon-tied, brocade-wrapped gift divided into quadrants by the ribbon which is superimposed atop the bow by a rectangular panel carved with the characters hu fu yan, 'crouching tiger inkstone', the quadrants carved with different scenes of birds in flight above waves from which rise various flowers and grasses, the interior of the cover carved and gilt with the same imperial poem followed by the date and two seals, the top of the stand carved with a four-character inscription, Qianlong yuyong, ‘for the personal use of Qianlong’, followed by a four-character seal, ji xia ling chi, 'a brief moment to practice calligraphy'.
A detailed description with illustrations of a Qianlong imperial inscribed chengni ink stone of identical form is
included in the Xiqing Yanpu ‘A Compendium of the Qianlong Emperor’s Imperial Inkstone Collection’, juan 23, pp. 34-37. For other Qianlong imperial inscribed ink stones of this form, see an example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Emperor Ch’ien-lung’s Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2000, p. 113, fig. III-4; one from the J.M. Hu collection, but the ink stone and cover a marriage, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2009, lot 237; one sold at Beijing Poly, 4 June 2010, lot 4146; and one sold at Beijing Poly, 6 June 2015, lot 6535.
The present lot is accompanied by a Japanese wood box with an inscription by Ono Shozan (1880-1952) dated to 1927. Ono Shozan was a prestigious Japanese sinologist and calligrapher of the Meiji and Showa periods, who was well-known for his knowledge of the Four Treasures of the Study. He appraised artworks for and worked with noble families and private collectors.
Zitan box 6 3/8 in. (16.3 cm.) long; inkstone 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm.) long, Japanese wood box
Provenance
Fujio Hiroshi (1951-2013), the seventh-generation owner of Gyokurindo, Osaka, thence by descent within the family