Pictures

Finely carved on one side in high positive relief, this carries the second half of a regulated-verse poem by the greatest of Chinese poets, Du Fu杜甫 (712-770).
The poem is entitled, Climbing to Ox-Head Temple.

The reverse with a beautiful yellow-cream original patina.

The calligraphy may be translated as :
Green mountains, feeling beyond limit,
Toiling, toiling I climb up to Ox-Head.
No longer can I bear to be tied down:
Truly, now, I wander at my will

Flowers, thick, the springtime temple, calm,
Bamboo, slim, the rustic pool is hidden.
Where is the warbler who sings so urgently?
Time passes and he still will not give up.

China: 18th century
Height : 22.5 cm / 8.9 in.
Length : 4.5 cm / 1.8 in.

Provenance:
A private European Collection.