AN INSCRIBED AND FINELY INLAID ‘EIGHT IMMORTALS’ WOOD PIPA, 19TH CENTURY

拍品描述

AN INSCRIBED AND FINELY INLAID ‘EIGHT IMMORTALS’ WOOD PIPA, 19TH CENTURY China. Finely constructed with an elegant, elongated pear-shaped body, a gently rounded dark-wood back, and a warm, attractively grained soundboard, fitted with four strings, numerous raised frets, four elongated tuning pegs, and a recurved pegbox terminating in a superbly carved bat-form headstock. The front is delicately embellished in iridescent mother-of-pearl, the bridge decorated with a sinuous dragon amid scrolling clouds, the neck with immortals emerging from clouds, and the soundboard framed by a continuous geometric border. The reverse is richly inlaid in varied tones of mother-of-pearl with a Daoist sage descending on a crane towards further immortals awaiting his arrival, all in a rocky landscape beneath flowering trees, surrounded by drifting clouds. The scene is centered by a four-character inscription, ‘‘The Eight Immortals Gather for a Drink’. Dimensions: Length 96.5 cm Expert’s note: The bat-form headstock here is a commonly used device on 19th-century Chinese lutes, symbolizing good luck. The pear-shaped lute slowly migrated from Central Asia into China during the Han and Sui dynasties (1st-7th century). It eventually became the pipa; the term describes the original playing motion of the plectrum held in the performer's right hand: p'i, ‘to play forward’ (toward the left), and p'a, ‘to play backward’ (toward the right). Until the mid-tenth century, the pipa was held horizontally (guitar style), and its twisted silk strings were plucked with a large triangular plectrum. Toward the end of the Tang dynasty, musicians began using their fingernails to execute the exuberant and programmatic repertory that was gaining popularity and that became the national style. To facilitate the use of the fingers, the instrument began to be held in a more upright position. In addition to its use in the opera and in storytelling ensembles, the pipa has a solo repertory of highly programmatic, virtuosic music. Literature comparison: Compare a related mother-of-pearl inlaid wood pipa, 88.9 cm long, dated to the Qing dynasty, in the Hartenberger World Music Collection, catalogue number 2AS-CHLT-66. Compare a related ivory and bone inlaid wood pipa with a similar bat-form headstock, 95.4 cm long, dated to the 19th century, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1918.344. Compare a related mother-of-pearl inlaid wood pipa from Amoy, Fujian province, dated 19th century, 94.8 cm long, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 89.4.54. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Bonhams London, 2 November 2023, lot 316 Price: GBP 165,500 or approx. EUR 210,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related form with mother-of-pearl inlays. Note the size (91 cm) and longer inscription. Also note the much earlier dating.

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