Lot 8019. Ruan Yuan's green Duan inkstone mountain, dated Jiaqing twenty-fifth year, corresponding to 1820 and of the period; 24 3/4 in. (63 cm.) long. Estimate: HK$6,000,000.00 - HK$8,000,000.00 (USD 769,050 - USD 1,025,400). Unsold. © Christie's Image Ltd 2018.

The Duan inkstone is cleverly worked into the shape of a rolling mountain, detailed with ridges and valleys utilising the natural contours of the stone, the surface delicately carved in low relief with a panoply of trees and waterfall to form an idyllic landscape, some of the stone’s yellowish ‘skin’ retained to represent coloured autumn leaves. At one end a small concave well is hallowed out to serve as a brush washer, and two peaks are hallowed to the top, possibly as receptacles for brushes. The back is incised with two inscriptions, a signature and a seal reading:

Autumn Colours in Lintong
In the twenty-fifth year of Jiaqing, I was in Yuedong arranging matters of matrimony, when I acquired this gigantic boulder from the Duan River. I (had it) carved as a inkstone mountain, and titled it ‘Autumn Colours of Lintong’ to commemorate my place of origin. My uncle immediately wrote to me to say:
That’s an inkstone mountain!

Written by Zhang Xi of Yangzhou

Green Boulder of Duan River
Seal: Langhuan Qianguan

Together with a framed rubbing of the inkstone mountain.

Provenance: Zhang Xi (1802-1822)
Ruan Yuan (1764-1849)
Jiansongge Collection, Taipei
Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, purchased from above in 2005.

Literature: Ruan Yuan, Yanjingshiji, vol. 2, juan 6.

Note: This instone mountain was in the collection of Ruan Yuan, originally acquired by his son-in-law, Zhang Xi. It was recorded in detail in Ruan Yuan’s anthology Yanjingshiji:

“In the 25th year of Jiaqing, Xi was 18. His father ordered him to come to Yuedong, to live uxorially in the Governor’s residence, and to study under my guidance... Xi studied the flora, fauna and products of Ling’nan against ancient texts, and produced a few worthy essays. He also carved an inkstone mountain from a large block of Duan River boulder, and called it ‘Autumn Colours of Lintong’, since the Supervising Censor was originally from Lintong, and came first in the local examination in Shaanxi in the jiazi year of Qianlong.”

Cross referencing this record with the inscription on the inkstone mountain, a more complete picture emerges: Ruan Yuan was Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi at the time, where Duan stone was is mined. Zhang Xi was 18 when he came to Guangdong to marry his daughter, accompanied by his teacher Yan Houmin. He was interested in flora and fauna, and produced some academic studies on them. The inkstone mountain was called ‘Autumn Colours of Lintong’ because his grandfather Zhang Xin, the Supervising Censor, was originally from Lintong. It seems Ruan Yuan admired the inkstone mountain, as he wrote to Zhang Xi proclaiming, ‘that’s an inkstone mountain!’

Inkstone mountains are desk accoutrements that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The most famous example is the one said to have been owned by Emperor Li Yu of the Southern Tang period, and later came into the possession of Mi Fu in the Northern Song Dynasty. Mi Fu exchanged a piece of land with it to build his studio Haiyue ‘an (Studio of the Marine Peak), and later wrote his masterpiece calligraphy Yanshanming (In Commemoration of Inkstone Mountain). According to his contemporary, Cai Tiao, Su Shi also made himself an inkstone mountain. Mi Fu had two in his possession, and so did the Huizong Emperor, showing their popularity at the time. The material of Mi Fu’s inkstone does not appear to have been recorded. Many later presumed it to be of Lingbi rock. In Haiyue zhilin (Assorted Notes from the Marine Peak), Mi Fu was recorded to be in possession of another inkstone mountain:

“The Monk Zhou had a Duan stone that could be erected like a mountain, and its slopes could take water for grinding (ink). Later Mi Fu acquired it, and held it in his sleep for three days. He then asked Zizhan (Su Shi) to write an inscription on it for him.”

This inkstone mountain was clearly recorded as being that of Duan stone. Had it survived, it would have been another masterpiece that bears the mark of both Mi Fu and Su Shi.

Inkstone mountains are not so commonly seen after the Song Dynasty, but avid inkstone collector Ruan Yuan was an exception, and there were several large Duan inkstone mountains in his collection. Perhaps because he was the governor of the Guangdong area, and material was abundantly available, he favoured using large boulders to make inkstone mountains, like the current example. Although Ruan Yuan mentioned in his writing that Zhang Xi ‘carved an inkstone mountain from a large block of Duan River boulder’, it was unlikely that Zhang Xi, being an 18 year-old scholar, would have had the skill to carry out such work. Most likely he found a craftsman to carve it for him. Who might that be? Although it was not recorded on the inkstone mountain, we could attempt to find clues from other works.

A green Duan inkstone from a private collection, previously acquired from J. J. Lally, has very similar carving style to the current lot, and is inscribed:

“Hermit of Auxiliary Perusal, Hu Changling, made this square-well inkstone in the Governor’s Residence in Yangcheng, in the gengchen year of Jiaqing.”

Gengchen year was the 25th year of Jiaqing, the same year the current inkstone mountain was made. The inscription stated that Hu was the maker of the piece, and he made it in the Governor’s Residence in Yangcheng (present day Guangzhou), which would be in Ruan Yuan’s residence.

Another inkstone mountain (fig. 3) from the collection of Tianjin Museum is decorated with a similar theme to the Lally example, but with much deeper carving and more threedimensional. The inscription on this piece is worthy of note. On the base is an inscription by Ruan Yuan:

“A rock from Duan river carved as a mountain, with lined paddy fields in its midst; Cultivate it with brush and ink to keep for generations; pass on the baton without lagging for an instant. My son Fu came to visit me in Yangcheng. By chance I acquired this inkstone mountatin at the same time, so I inscribed on it as commemoration. The Old Librarian (Yuntai Laoren).”

At the back there is another inscription:

“Inhaling the scenery of the lake, and drinking from the mountain green 
For the pure pleasure of Hu Changling in the first year of Daoguang”

Fu in the inscription is in reference to Ruan Yuan’s son Ruan Fu. He was recorded to have visited Guangzhou in the second year of Daoguang, which would date the Ruan Yuan inscription one year later than the Hu Changling inscription. It is therefore possible that Hu Changling made the inkstone mountain a year earlier, before handing it to Ruan Yuan.

There are a few other pieces which are carved in the Hu Changling style, all of which are related to the Ruan Family. One is a shallow-relief inkstone mountain (fig. 4) in the collection of Tianjin Museum, inscribed:

“Made by the Immortal Chamber of the Heavenly Library, using a slab of Duan River rock, in the style of the Yuan painting Fishing Boat in a Clear Stream.”

The other, also in the collection of Tianjin Mueum, is carved in shallow relief with clouds amongst woods, and inscribed with sealmark

“for Boyuan’s (Ruan Yuan) discerning pleasure”

It is worth mentioning that all three pieces from the Tianjing Museum were collected by one of the most avid inkstone collectors in the early Republic period, Xu Shizhang. The inkstone mountain bearing the Hu Changling inscription was acquired by him in the winter of 1934 at great expense, and one of his favourites. He employed the legendary rubbing maker Zhou Xiding to make rubbing of the inkstone, and left a lengthy inscription on it detailing how he acquired it. The last known piece in the Hu Changling style is the ‘House of Hundred Singing Plums’ inkstone mountain carved for Ruan An, illustrated in Emperor, Scholar, Artisan, Monk, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1984, pp. 210-211, no. 74.

The Lally example, dated gengchen year of Jiaqing, is the earliest dated piece bearing the signature of Hu Changling. This is also the same year that Zhang Xi arrived in Guangzhou, and the same year the current green Duan inkstone mountain was made. Could it be the case that it was Zhang Xi who, after acquiring the green Duan boulder, also made acquaintance with Hu Changling, and asked him to carve the mountain for him? Could it also be Zhang Xi who then introduced Hu to Ruan Yuan, thus starting a fruitful relationship between the artist and the patron family? In any case, from the inscriptions Hu Changling left on these pieces, he did not appear to be a regular artisan, but a learned literati. The few pieces he made for the Ruan Family are very distinctive in style, and in keeping with the literati aesthetics. The current inkstone mountain is not only documented in great detail, but also bears an informative inscription. It is an important piece that sheds much light on the relationship between Hu Changling and the Ruan Family.