Stele on Ritual Implements
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.何紹基 隸書 禮器碑 軸 紙本
This work is a direct homage to an early stone inscription, known as the “Stele on Ritual Implements” (Liqi bei), written in A.D. 156, that was considered by many Epigraphic School calligraphers to be the greatest ancient example of this script type. Here, the scholar-calligrapher He Shaoji transcribes a portion of this stele, enlarging the characters and spreading them over six scrolls to create an impressive work of art for a large, public setting. The “Stele on Ritual Implements” was one of He Shaoji’s favorite inscriptions, and when he wrote this at the age of seventy-one, he probably knew the text so well that he did not need to consult the original.
This work is a direct homage to an early stone inscription, known as the “Stele on Ritual Implements” (Liqi bei), written in A.D. 156, that was considered by many Epigraphic School calligraphers to be the greatest ancient example of this script type. Here, the scholar-calligrapher He Shaoji transcribes a portion of this stele, enlarging the characters and spreading them over six scrolls to create an impressive work of art for a large, public setting. The “Stele on Ritual Implements” was one of He Shaoji’s favorite inscriptions, and when he wrote this at the age of seventy-one, he probably knew the text so well that he did not need to consult the original.
Artwork Details
- 何紹基 隸書 禮器碑 軸 紙本
- Title: Stele on Ritual Implements
- Calligrapher: He Shaoji (Chinese, 1799–1873)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 1869
- Culture: China
- Medium: Set of six hanging scrolls; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each scroll): 53 1/2 × 13 1/8 in. (135.9 × 33.3 cm)
Overall: 79 1/8 × 17 3/4 in. (201 × 45.1 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Promised Gift of Guanyuan Shanzhuang Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art