Minneapolis Institute of Art

Wristrest in the Shape of a Chin (Lute)

Calligrapher: Kuo Shang-hsien

Date

early 19th century

Medium

Dragon's eye wood (lung yan mu) and ivory

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This wristrest is beautifully crafted in the shape of a ch'in or Chinese lute, an instrument long associated with the literati and a symbol of antiquity and scholarship. The craftsmen used lung-yan timber from Fukien province. This wood is famous for its tiger stripe graining while the form is further enhanced by a row of thirteen ivory inlays resembling the markers on an actual qin . The top of the rest is carved with a poem by Kuo Shang-hsien in two five-character stanzas, which reads: My home is without material wealth The classics are its fertile fields. Kuo Shang-hsien was a famous official and calligrapher from Pu-tian in Fukien. He was a scholar, painter, poet, and well-known calligrapher who held several official posts both in Peking and the provinces. China, Asia

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