19th century, signed Huang Bingkun (1832-1904) Of irregular flattened pebble shape, finely carved in low-relief on each side with rising billowing clouds, the top gently polished and incised two inscriptions near the board reading Dilou yi (A gift presented by Dilou) and Wuqiao huayan (Wuqiao's inkstone for painting), the base carved with a poem and an inscription reading Jiwei shouxia mingyu shenjiang qiu'an zhuren bingke (Carved by Qiuan Zhuren at Shanghai in the early summer of the year of Jiwei), corresponding to 1859, the stone of purple-grey tone, stand. 14cm (1/2in) wide. (2).FootnotesPlease note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve 本拍品不設底價 十九世紀 黃炳堃銘雲紋端硯 Provenance: The Yanqinzhai Collection, Hong Kong 來源: 香港硯琴齋珍藏 Huang Bingkun (1832-1904), also known by his courtesy name Dilou and scholar name Qiuan Zhuren, was born in a family of guqin masters. A native of Xinhui, Canton, he spent most of this life in travelling across the country and to Japan before he settled down in Yuannan Provenance as a lower-rank officer. He was known for his accomplishment in poem and guqin. 紫端石，隨形滿雕如意雲紋，硯池上方陰刻「五橋畫研」及「篴樓貽」，硯台底部陰刻硯銘「不方不圓，守經違權，以著以述，名山石室，褒厥美而稱曰端兮，宜為士行出所率」，署款「己未首夏銘於申江秋菴主人並刻」。 黃炳堃(1832-1904)，字篴樓，號秋菴主人，廣東新會人。黃氏為新會琴學世家，族人多能琴。叔祖父黃景星（1842卒），取家傳《古岡遺譜》抄本，彙訂而成《悟雪山房琴譜》，其中曲目至今為嶺南琴人傳習。黃炳堃於太平天國之後宦遊各地，後定居雲南楚雄，以琴藝詩詞聞名當時，著有《希古堂文集》。 己未即1859年，此硯應為黃炳堃因太平天國動亂後流寓上海時銘刻贈與五橋者。