LOT 1511
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An inscribed large ritual conch trumpet, Signed Wu Kuan, Ming dynasty | 明 吳寬銘法螺
作品估价：HKD 100,000 - 300,000
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图录号：
1511
拍品名称：
An inscribed large ritual conch trumpet, Signed Wu Kuan, Ming dynasty | 明 吳寬銘法螺
拍品描述：
An inscribed large ritual conch trumpet,
Signed Wu Kuan, Ming dynasty
明 吳寬銘法螺
the inner lip with an inscriptiontranslating to 'On the Flower Festival of the wuxu year of the Chenghua period (1478) for the exclusive use of Master Mingtong of the Stone Buddha Pavilion at Jinghai Temple. Respectfully presented by Wu Kuan of Yanling', the tip of the canal pierced with an aperture
32.5 cm
釋文
成化戊戌花朝燈市，靜海寺石佛閣明通法師寶用。延陵吳寬敬贈。（1478）
Crafted from a naturally formed seashell, the present conch tells a story of great Ming scholars, of filial devotion and religious splendour. On the wall of the shell, an inscription and signature in semi-regular script are carved reading, “On the Flower Festival of the wuxu year of the Chenghua period (1478), for the exclusive use of Master Mingtong of the Stone Buddha Pavilion at Jinghai Temple. Respectfully presented by Wu Kuan of Yanling.”
Celebrated on either the 12th or 15th day of the second lunar month, the ‘Flower Festival’ or ‘Flower Day’ is celebrated as the birthday of all flowers. During this period, ingenious lanterns would be displayed at market fairs – a tradition thought to have originated in the Lantern Festival, which was celebrated on the fifteenth night of the first month from the Tang dynasty onwards and evolved into a more commercial affair during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In his 1635 chronicle, Dijing jingwulue (‘A Chronicle of the Capital's Scenery’), scholar Liu Tong describes the lively mercantile atmosphere of such festivals by the Ming dynasty: “When [Song dynasty] Emperor Taizu first established the Southern Capital, elaborated buildings were erected to attract wealthy merchants from all over the world, and lanterns were displayed for ten days. Nowadays in the Northern Capital, the lantern market begins on the eighth day, reaches its peak on the thirteenth, and ends on the seventeenth. The market is open day and night, and lanterns are displayed from dusk till dawn...Merchants from the capital, as well as exotic treasures from barbarian and foreign lands, ancient artefacts, and commodities for people of all ranks, all gather here.”[1] Based on its inscription, one can only assume that the present conch shell was purchased by Wu Kuan at a similar festive market – among the hubbub of celebration.
Wu Kuan (1435–1504) – also known by his courtesy name Yuanbo or as Pao'an or Jingsan – was revered as ‘Master Pao'an.’ Hailing from Changzhou County (modern-day Suzhou, Jiangsu Province), with Yanling as the ancestral home of the Wu clan, Wu was a renowned official, essayist, calligrapher, and book collector of his time. He gained widespread recognition as a young student for his studies of the Classics and, by the eighth year of the Chenghua period (1472), became the first-ranked candidate in the imperial examination. Wu went on to serve as the imperial tutor of Emperors Xiaozong and Wuzong and, in the eighth year of the Hongzhi period (1495), he was promoted to Right Vice Minister of Personnel, later serving as Left Vice Minister of Personnel before being appointed to oversee the Household of the Heir Apparent, ultimately rising to the position of Minister of Rites. Well versed in all texts, Wu was particularly fond of the essays of the great Song dynasty scholar-cum-poet Su Shi and received wide acclaim for his masterful emulation of Su’s running script calligraphy. When Wu Kuan’s father, Wu Rong, passed away in the eighth month of 1475, Wu returned to Suzhou from his post at the Hanlin Academy in Beijing to perform the rites of mourning. Upon the completion of this trip, it seems that Wu embarked on various boat trips with friends in the area, visiting famous sites around Jiangnan and it seems likely that this was the moment in which the conchshell was purchased, probably in Nanjing.[2]
As the inscription confirms – whether out of friendship, religious devotion, or in his father’s honour – Wu soon gave the present conch shell to a Buddhist monk at Jinghai Temple by the name of ‘Master Mingtong.’ Located outside Yifeng Gate on the southwestern slope of Shizi Mountain in Nanjing, Jinghai Temple was originally built by the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402-1424) to honour the achievements of Admiral Zheng He’s maritime voyages and as a place to enshrine the precious relics such as the Arhat paintings, Buddha’s tooth, and jade treasures brought back with him from foreign lands. Between the third year of the Yongle period (1405) and the eighth year of the Xuande period (1433), Zheng He was selected by Emperors to lead seven such expeditions to the ‘Western Oceans’ and, to commemorate his voyages, the temple was named ‘Jinghai’ meaning ‘peace across the four seas and the world.’ During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the temple was a majestic complex with numerous grand halls and buildings, and was known as “the crown of Buddhist monasteries in Jinling” and “the most prominent of the eight great temples in Jinling;” a fitting setting for a conch of such beauty.
The conch shell, also known as fanbei in Chinese, was considered a rare treasure in ancient times and has a long history of use in religious ceremonies. It is a common instrument in various ancient Indian religions and, most notably, in Buddhism. Legend has it that when the Buddha Sakyamuni first turned the Wheel of Law in the Deer Park, Śakra (the ruler of Heaven) offered him a right-turning white conch as reward. Since then, the conch has been widely used in the transmission of Buddhism as a symbol of auspiciousness and perfection. Images of conch shells can often be seen in Buddhist temples, on Dharma seats, and in the hands of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. Making up one of the Eight Auspicious Signs (bajixiang) in Tibetan Buddhism, the conch not only symbolises auspiciousness and perfection but also – due to its ability to produce a sound that gathers monks – the voice of the Buddha himself. Symbolising the dissemination of Buddhist teachings across the world for the salvation of all beings, the present conch is more than just an object of beauty and history; it stands as a symbol of religious devotion and belief in a brighter tomorrow.
[1](Ming) Liu Dong and Yu Yizheng, authors; Luan Baoqun, annotator; Dijing jingwulue (A Chronicle of the Capital's Scenery), Beijing, 2013, pp. 32-42.
[2]See: Gu, Yuanchan, Wukuan shi yanjiu [A Study of Wu Kuan Poems] (Master's Thesis, Department of Chinese Literature, Taiwan Sun Yat-sen University, July 2016); Wu, Gangyi, “Shenzhou zeng wukuan songbie tu jianlun er ren zhi youyi” [Shen Zhou's Farewell Painting to Wu Kuan: A Discussion of Their Friendship], The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, March 2014, pp. 32-42.
「明 吳寬銘 法螺」，選用天然生成的大海螺殼製作。在佛教信仰中，法螺是一種極具代表性的器物，常見於供品或法器。此法螺器壁鐫刻行楷書銘文並款識：「成化戊戌花朝燈市，靜海寺石佛閣明通法師寶用。延陵吳寬敬贈。」（戊戌十四年，1478）「花朝」即「花朝節」，相傳農曆二月十二日或十五日為百花生日，也稱為「花朝日」，唐代司空圖（837〜908）〈早春〉詩：「傷懷同客處，病眼卻花朝。」民間佈置各種奇巧燈綵應市，稱「燈市」，或始於唐代正月十五夜（上元）張燈，宋代極盛，明清發展成為商業買賣市集。《帝京景物略》：「太祖初建南都，盛為彩樓，招徠天下富商，放燈十日。今北都燈市，起初八，至十三而盛，迄十七乃罷也。燈市者，朝逮夕，市；而夕逮朝，燈也。……省直之商旅，夷蠻閩貊之珍異，三代八朝之骨董，五等四民之服用物，皆集。」[1] 由銘文推測，此法螺係明代成化年間名臣、書法家吳寬購於花朝節之燈市，致贈方外友人靜海寺石佛閣明通法師。
吳寬（1435〜1504），字原博，號匏庵、荊三，世稱匏庵先生。直隸長洲縣（今江蘇蘇州市）人，延陵為吳氏郡望。明代名臣、散文家、書法家、藏書家。為諸生時即有聲望，遍讀《左傳》、《史記》、《漢書》及唐宋大家文。成化八年（1472）狀元，明孝宗、武宗兩代帝師，弘治八年（1495）擢吏部右侍郎，後任吏部左侍郎，改掌詹事府，官至禮部尚書。於書無所不窺，尤喜蘇軾文，《明詩評》：「文定力掃浮靡，一歸雅淡，詩如楊柳受風，煦然不冽。」工書法，真、行、草書皆善，尤工行書，承蘇軾筆意。著有《匏翁家藏集》、《書經正蒙》、《平吳錄》等，又有《家藏集》等。
吳寬自幼早慧好古，喜好多方遊歷山水，十二歲即中秀才，卻困於科場多年，遂生絕意仕進、忘機江湖之想，後因御史陳選（1429－1486）相勸，勉強入試，成化八年中狀元，授翰林院修撰，侍講東宮。此吳寬致贈明通法師之法螺，可能與吳寬於成化十一至十五年間（1475－1479）返鄉丁憂有關。吳寬之父吳融病逝於成化十一年八月，吳寬時任翰林院修撰，由北京返回蘇州服喪，丁憂期滿，與友人泛舟出遊，同訪江南名勝，此法螺即於此一時期購於南京。[2]
靜海寺位於南京儀鳳門外獅子山西南麓（今江蘇省南京市鼓樓區儀鳳門外建寧路），原是明成祖朱棣為褒獎鄭和航海功績，同時為供奉鄭和從異域帶回的羅漢畫像、佛牙、玉玩等奇珍所建。永樂三年（1405）至宣德八年（1433）間，鄭和先後奉明成祖與宣宗之命，率領船隊七下西洋。為表彰鄭和，成祖下令在南京興建寺院並賜名「靜海」，寓意「四海平靜、天下太平」。明清時期該寺規模壯觀，殿宇林立，氣勢恢宏，號稱「金陵律寺之冠」、「金陵八大寺之最」。
法螺，亦名梵貝，古代被視為珍稀寶物，用於宗教儀式的歷史悠久，是古印度諸宗教共同的法器。傳說釋迦牟尼佛在鹿野苑初轉法輪時，帝釋天等將一右旋白色海螺獻給佛祖，從此法螺作為吉祥圓滿之象徵，於佛教傳法中廣為使用。在佛教寺院、法座、佛菩薩的持物中皆可看到法螺的圖樣，尤以藏傳佛教最為常見。法螺是藏族的八吉祥之一，除寓意吉祥圓滿外，因法螺能吹出聲響聚集僧眾，有如佛語，明代王圻《三才圖會》：「海螺，即以螺之大者，吹作波囉之聲，蓋仿彿於笳而為之者。」法螺聲揚四方，象徵佛法之弘揚，廣傳天下，普渡眾生。
[1] (明)劉侗，于奕正撰，欒保群注，《帝京景物略》（北京：故宮出版社，2013），頁32-42。
[2] 參見：古芫丞，《吳寬詩研究》（台灣中山大學中國文學系碩士論文，2016年7月）；吳剛毅，〈沈周贈吳寬送別圖 兼論二人之友誼〉《故宮文物月刊》（2014年3月），頁32-42。