PROVENANCE: David Baker, Britain This lot is made of stone of a greenish tone, characteristically mottled with spots of olive green, modelled as a lotus leaf and deftly carved in relief with one crab of a medium size amongst reeds, its shell naturally highlighted.Duan stones are produced in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, and got its name from Duan Prefecture that governed the city during the Tang Dynasty. Duan stone is a volcanic tuff. There are various distinctive markings, due to various rock materials imbedded in the stone, that create unique designs and stone eyes (inclusions) which were traditionally valued in China. A green variety of the stone was mined in the Song Dynasty. Duan inkstones are carefully categorized by the mines from which the raw stone was excavated. Particular mines were open only for discrete periods in history. The present imaginatively fashioned and delicately carved brushwasher is a fine example of objects made for the scholar's table during the Qing dynasty.
This lot is made of stone of a greenish tone, characteristically mottled with spots of olive green, modelled as a lotus leaf and deftly carved in relief with one crab of a medium size amongst reeds, its shell naturally highlighted.Duan stones are produced in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province, and got its name from Duan Prefecture that governed the city during the Tang Dynasty. Duan stone is a volcanic tuff. There are various distinctive markings, due to various rock materials imbedded in the stone, that create unique designs and stone eyes (inclusions) which were traditionally valued in China. A green variety of the stone was mined in the Song Dynasty. Duan inkstones are carefully categorized by the mines from which the raw stone was excavated. Particular mines were open only for discrete periods in history. The present imaginatively fashioned and delicately carved brushwasher is a fine example of objects made for the scholar's table during the Qing dynasty.
PROVENANCE: David Baker, Britain