Tuan Stone Scholar's Screen, ca. 1790
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GUEST:
Well, my father was the commander with the National Chinese Army. He was the American advisor. And he was the commander of the off-shore islands of Matsu and Quemoy. They lived in Gaochun, my mother and dad did. When he arrived there, he went to an antique store and this plaque was there. Well, two years later, he went back and he brought the plaque and brought it back home with him. And I've inherited it from him.
APPRAISER:
And when did your father purchase this?
GUEST:
Probably in the mid-1950s.
APPRAISER:
That period of time, the material was, like... Worthless. I wouldn't be surprised if he paid, like, five bucks for it, seven dollars or something like that. And this was from, like, a very scholarly family, and it's an ink screen.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Like, what you would have is, you would have an ink stone in front of it here, right, and you'd grind the ink, and this was to prevent the ink from spattering on the wall behind you.
GUEST:
Well, that's interesting.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, and the material is a type of slate that's called Tuan stone. And the Chinese particularly like it because they make ink stones out of it, but also that texture and the different colors that are there, that green and that purple. But the thing is handsomely carved, beautiful quality carving. This material's really soft. So this could actually be just a steel chisel and a wooden mallet. And that would all work.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
This one is probably between, like, 1760 and probably no later than about 1820.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
This is something that's Chinese for Chinese taste. This was never intended for export. When he purchased the thing, it was absolutely valueless. Now the Chinese market is hot as a pistol. Very, very strong market. And I would say at auction, I would expect this to result between $5,000 to $7,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness. That's... That's very nice to know. Thank you.
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