Currently not on view
Friendship in Stone (Shijiao tu 石交圖),
dated 1640
Ni Yuanlu 倪元璐, 1593–1644
Chinese
Ming dynasty, 1368–1644
1998-70 a-j
Garden and scholar’s rocks were collected for their fantastical shapes and forms. Seen as miniatures of immortal mountains and heavenly caves, they were imbued with cosmic properties. Lofty and unchanging, rocks were also believed to embody human characteristics. In gardens, such rocks divided space, added texture to a vista, and provided a focus for contemplation.
A high official and loyalist to the lost Ming dynasty, Ni Yuanlu committed suicide in 1644, when the capital of Beijing fell to rebel forces. These five rocks, part of a larger set and painted on satin, might express personal attributes that Ni admired or symbolize a circle of close friends.
Information
Title
Friendship in Stone (Shijiao tu 石交圖)
Dates
dated 1640
Maker
Medium
Album of 10 leaves; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Album: 28.5 x 24.5 x 2 cm. (11 1/4 x 9 5/8 x 13/16 in.)
Cloth case: 33.7 x 29 x 7.3 cm. (13 1/4 x 11 7/16 x 2 7/8 in.)
Calligraphy (frontispiece): 21.5 x 20.3 cm. (8 7/16 x 8 in.)
Mat (frontispiece): 30.2 x 27.9 cm. (11 7/8 x 11 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951
Object Number
1998-70 a-j
Place Made
Asia, China
Signatures
signed "Hongbao" 鴻寶 (on leaf 10)
Inscription
Artist's inscription on leaf j:
早起無事作石交圖正之獻汝五弟鴻寶
Getting up early, with no event to attend, I made these rock-bound pictures, sincerely, for the fifth brother Xianru, Hongbao [Ni Yuanlu]
dated 1640
Marks/Labels/Seals
Seals on frontispiece:
Zhang Xiangning張祥凝 (1909–1960 or 1911–1958)
"Pingzhai" 㻂齋, oval relief, lower left, top
"Pingzhai biji" 㻂齋秘笈, square relief, lower left, bottom
Ou Hanbo 區漢波 (early 20th century; Hong Kong collector whose Zhengxin-zhengyi-zhai 正心誠意齋 collection included many Ming and Qing paintings and calligraphies. Many of the works in his collection had colophons by Zhang Xiangning 張祥凝)
"Zhengxin Chenguizhai yin" 正心誠意齋印, square relief, right
Artist seals:
"Ni Yuanlu yin" 倪元璐印, square intaglio (leaves 1-9)
"Biehaoyuan ke" 別號園客, square intaglio (leaves 1-9)
"[Yuanlu(?)]" 元璐, tall rectangular relief (leaf j, right, top)
"Ni Yuanlu yin" 倪元璐印, square relief (leaf j, upper left, top)
"Hongbao" 鴻寶, square relief (leaf j, upper left, bottom)
Collector seals:
Ou Hanbo 區漢波 (early 20th century)
"Ou Hanbo cang" 區漢波藏 square relief
"Tian rang zhi bao" 天壤至寶 oval relief
"Hanbo ming xin zhi pin" 漢波銘心之品 sq. relief
Zhang Xiangning張祥凝 (1909–1960 or 1911–1958)
"Zhang shi pingzhai pingsheng zhenshang" 張氏㻂齋平生珍賞 rect. relief
"Pingzhai shending" 㻂齋審定 rect. relief
"Zhang Xiangning cang" 張祥凝藏 tall rect. relief
Gu Danming 顧澹明 (1904–1973; from Guangdong, follower of Gao Jianfu高剑父, amateur painter, and known as a forger of Kang Youwei’s calligraphy; during the war he served as head of the Propoganda Office宣傳處for the collaborationist Reorganized National Government of China 汪偽政府; after the war had went to Hong Kong)
"Gu Danming cang" 顧澹明藏 square intaglio
"Yunzhengzhai" 蘊正齋 square relief
"Gu shi yunzhengzhai cang" 顧氏蘊正齋藏 tall rect. relief
Culture
Period
Materials
–1998 John B. Elliott (Princeton, NJ), by bequest to the Princeton University Art Museum, 1998.
