The artistic furnishings in the bookstore, such as piano, chess, books, paintings, tea, incense, flowers, etc., contrast and match each other, highlighting the user's thoughts and interests. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Su Di produced many famous masters of calligraphy and decoration, such as the Wen family who ran the "art garden", Gu Wenbin, the owner of the Guoyun Building, and Shen Fu, the author of the "Six Records of Fusheng".
▌ [Qing] "Huaxu Yongshu Album"
▌[Qing] "Peng's Album of Xingle"
Tea is a clean product for the literati to enjoy themselves. In the Ming Dynasty, there was often a "small hut dedicated to cooking tea", and there were tea children who specialized in tea affairs in the tea house, and the host could enjoy tea and rest after reading, and could also entertain guests to talk. The way of drinking tea has changed compared with the Tang and Song dynasties, and it is no longer a single group of tea and tea end methods, but it has begun to appear loose tea brewing. As a result, new tea drinking utensils came into being, and porcelain teapots and purple sand teapots flourished in the world.
In Suzhou, the literati tin pot has unique characteristics, and is more famous for the Ming dynasty Zhao Liangbi and the beginning of the Restoration. For example, a "'Stone Plum' purple sand gall carved tin pot" is a tin half scoop pot.
▌[Qing] Stone plum purple sand gall carved tin pot
DC upturned, animal-shaped flying handlebars, curved button flat cover, flat bottom, rounded bottom, simple and thick shape. The handle and button are inlaid with rosewood and inlaid with silver wire, which has a sense of solidity. On one side of the pot is engraved Shiyun "a scoop and a half scoop, drinking water to encourage exercises, Yan's happiness, Xu You's high." Shi Mei is the second brother of Xuegu. "The inner bottom of the pot is a seal book "Shi Mou Ggu" square Zhu print. The outer side of the seal book is inlaid with silver wire "Pot History". Shi Mei, also known as Zhu Jian and YeHe, was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, during the Qing Dynasty. Craftsmanship, ingenious, sand tire tin engraving pot is its creation.
Burning incense is a pleasure in the literati's study, and incense is naturally a clean play in the study. Since the Fall of the Song dynasty, incense has become an important part of the elegant life of the literati. The Ming and Qing literati were more particular about spices, incense, and incense burning, and mostly used antique utensils or simple and simple shapes, such as officials, brothers, ding kilns, longquan, Xuan copper, Pan copper, Yi furnace, milk stove and other elegant styles. Such as a Ming Dynasty copper "Megan furnace" --
▌[Ming] Megan furnace
Measuring 44.5 cm long and 9 cm wide, the furnace is made of copper in the shape of a plum trunk and surrounded by plum blossoms and miswiged branches. The whole artifact is yellow with a reddish tinge, resembling an apricot color, commonly known as "dry yellow". The plum branches are concave for incense burning.
Folding fans, carrying the literati's leisurely and elegant sleeves. Folding fans were introduced to China from Japan in the Song Dynasty, and the Ming and Qing dynasties were the most prosperous. Literati folding fans are elegant, there are "white bamboo palm bamboo ebony purple white sandalwood Xiangfei eyebrow green, etc., interspersed with teeth and tortoiseshells." "There is also the Sudi mud fan process with the Wumen school of color or green landscape as a fan painting, which is particularly stunning. In the exhibits, the folding fan bone material is diverse, including bamboo, ivory, rosewood, lacquerware, on which are carved flowers and birds, auspicious patterns and calligraphy works, and there are inlaid screws, pineapple paint, red and other craft decorations.
▌ Sudi folding fan
Small pieces of the study room, many categories, different materials, exquisite and delicate craftsmanship, there are also natural simplicity. The value of these small objects is often not in the material itself, but in the charm of the craftsman's work under the guidance of the literati. Such as a piece of "white jade flat ground solid carving sea house crane folding box"
▌[Qing] White jade flat ground solid carving sea house crane folding box
The material of the box is mutton fat white jade, jade white. The shape of the instrument is rectangular, flat bottom, mother-daughter mouth, and horns. Cover carved mirage: a boulder stands near the sea, white clouds flutter in the air, and a crane flies to the distant pavilion. This square box is decorated with "pressed ground" milling, protruding from the Yang line, like a white painting.
This article is excerpted from the 8th issue of the 2019 "Collection" magazine "Bookstore Leisure Appreciation: Suzhou Museum Collection of Ming and Qing Dynasty Literary Room Appliances", for more content, please pay attention to the current issue of the magazine.