ESOTERIC COLLECTING

Fig. 15. No. 28 in Artsfrom {he scholars studio: Wang ntbbing. Fig. 16. Side view of mask handles. Fig. 17. Seal side of jet. subject which is, on this side Wang XizhL This prompts research into this famous figure-not a difficult task, since he is the single most in– fluential calligrapher, and therefore artist in the whole of Chinese his– tory. There is much to learn about him in endless sources, but a start might be made by checking the commentalY on entry no. 28 in my Artsfrom tbe Scbo/ar's Studio, which is a compilation of rubbings relating to his most famous work, the lanting Preface, three early rubbings of which are the subject of a handscroll in my collection compiled in the mid-Ming dynasty from Song stone reproductions of the original text (fig. 15). By doing this, you will be able to respond to the entire work of art in a manner closer to that of its origi– nal owner, seeing in the physical work of art a complex fabric of meaning which includes powerful references to the art of calligraphy and its leading exponent. Just to see the figure of Wang, identified as . such by his beloved geese, one of which is being carried here by his attendant, would instantly instill in the target audience a delicious res– onance of the past and of the cul– ture as a whole, both specific and non-specific. The same role is played by ti,e mask-handles which would connect the knowing audience to the an– cient bronze culmre and all it rep– resents (fig. 16). As with any lofty work of art, by the time one has finished unraveling all its layers of meaning one has grasped vast swathes of understanding about the art form, the culture from which it comes, life in general and ulti– mately about the self It is a civiliz– ing and immensely powerful process. The extent to which this exercise is pursued is, of course, up to the individual and what I am en– capsulating here is the result of thirty years devoted to it, but one has to start somewhere. Stalting from this one bottle, one might spend the next ten year,; studying Wang Xizhi and Chinese caHigra– phy, tracking down aH his extant works or copies after lost works, studying his life and times, locating him in his cultural framework. You may choose to look at the mask-handles and merely make a passing note to yourself, recogniz– ing their reference to the ancient bronze culture and to the insecurity of the Manchu invaders that made them embrace it with such fervent intensity ill so much of their alto On the other hand, you may choose to study the ancient bronzes from which they are derived for a while, identify the different sorts of mask– handles, trace their origin and so fOlth. 1f you do this, when you look at mask-handles in future you wiIJ gain immensely more from them, being able to read their subtleties of style and understand their vari– ous levels of meaning from Manchu 13 insecurity to ancient, animistic admonition. Another famous artist is evoked on the other side of the bottle in a different form, which is also COI11– man in snuff bottles (fig. 17). To– gether with a superbly incised painting of prunus blossom, is a seal with the two characters 'Shou– ping.' This is the seal of Yun Shou– ping, the famous early Qing painter, the implication being [hat the artist has copied a prunus branch from Yun's work and used the artist's own seal to identify it as such, a COllunon practice on Chinese objects other than paintings. A significant propoltion of all known bamboo and wood wrist-rests, for instance, and many blUSh-pots are decorated with copies of paintings or calligra– phy by known artists, rarely put there by the artists themselves. The decoration on this side opens up twO possible paths to fol– low into the realms of the esoteric: the subject matter and the artist copied. We may care to discover what the prunus as a subject meant to its original target audience, the resonance it would have evoked in the mind and soul of ti,e original owner, we may also discover in the process why it was such a popular subject for painters quite apart from its symbolism-it was, like the sub– ject of bamboo, a standard painting exercise in elegant brushwork be– cause of the varied strokes needed to do it justice.