A steatite tortoise-form inkstone and cover, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907)
Lot 757. A steatite tortoise-form inkstone and cover, Tang dynasty (AD 618-907); 4 1⁄2 in. (11.5 cm.) long. Estimate USD 6,000 – USD 8,000. Price realised USD 17,640. © Christie's 2022
The inkstone is carved as a tortoise standing on four short legs and with head turned to one side. The domed shell-form cover is carved on top with the Eight Trigrams set within the cellular pattern of the shell to form a circle. There are traces of earth and cinnabar.
Provenance: Christie's New York, 3 June 1988, lot 91.
Note: A similar steatite tortoise-form inkstone and cover is illustrated in the catalogue of the Inaugural Exhibition, vol. 2, Chinese Metalwares and Decorative Arts, The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, England, April 1993, no. 328. A pottery tortoise-form ink palette and cover excavated from a Tang dynasty tomb in Shangcaisian, Henan province, in 1962, is illustrated in Wenwu, 1964:2, pls. VIII:7 and 8. For another example with a double tray, in the Shanghai Museum, see Wenwu, 1965:12, p. 55, figs. 1 and 2. See, also, a grey pottery example sold at Christie’s New York, 4 June 1987, lot 180.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022