A MASSIVE CARVED 'MELON' DUAN INKSTONE, EARLY QING China, 18th century. The stone with its numerous greenish-yellow 'eyes' is carved as leafy vines bearing lobed melons as well as plums, the lapidary cleverly utilizing the shadings of the mineral to accentuate the fruit. The well is carved as a melon with the stalk clearly visible and continuing as a vine along the inkstone. Provenance: Wing Kei Curios & Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1 March 1996. Mrs. McGrady, Brighton, England, acquired from the above. The original receipt, describing the piece as an "old Chinese ink-stone" and erroneously as "garlic flowers […] (60-70 years old)", accompanies this lot. Condition: Good condition with wear, natural age cracks, traces of ink and pigment, minuscule nicks, light scratches, few very minor losses. Significant traces of use to the well on one side indicate that this was primarily used by the artist who once owned this inkstone. Weight: 3,810 g Dimensions: Height 7 cm, Length 25 cm Auction result comparison: Compare with a related melon-form duan inkstone, however of considerably smaller size, at Christie's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Including The Su Zhu An Collection of Inkstones) on 27 November 2013, lot 3268, sold for HKD 437,500. 清初瓜葉隨形端硯 中國，十八世紀。硯石上有許多綠黃色的石眼，隨形雕刻成藤状，四周可见瓜果。砚堂被雕刻成瓜形，根莖清晰可見，並沿著砚边像藤蔓一樣延伸。 來源：香港Wing Kei Curios & Porcelain（永基古玩瓷器）, 1996年3月1日。英國Brighton 的Mrs. McGrady購於上述藝廊。隨附原始發票，上面注明中國砚堂，把图样描写为"韭菜花纹 60-70年老"。 品相：狀況良好，有磨損，自然裂縫，墨水和顏料痕跡，微小的划痕，幾乎沒有很小的缺损。 砚堂一側有大量使用痕跡，表明此砚曾經被经常使用。 重量：3,810 克 尺寸：高 7 厘米, 長25 厘米 拍賣結果比較：一個近似但較小的瓜形端硯，香港佳士得Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art (Including The Su Zhu An Collection of Inkstones) 拍场2013年11月 27日，lot 3268, 售價HKD 437,500。