QIANLONG YUMING MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The present inkstone belongs to a group of ink stones made for imperial use or given as gifts to other imperial family members and distinguished officials during the Qianlong reign. An ink stone carved from She stone of the same form, pattern, and inscription, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in The National Palace Museum’s Ancient Inkstones Illustrated in the Imperial Catalogue Hsi-ch’ing yen-p’u, Taipei, 1997, p. 422-423, no. 93. The imperial poem is recorded in Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji: yuzhiwen, vol. 2, juan 39 (fig. 1).