Smoky quartz bottle

[Joey]

John,

   I thought that the top right character was 'Ren' [Man];
but looking again, I am not sure there is not a further stroke or two to the left of the 2 stroke
character I identified as 'Ren'.
That's me for translation...
Best,
Joey

[richy88]

Hi Joey & John

Joey, you are right. The character is indeed Ren.

But there appear to be some scratches and bruises around that character.

My opinion on this bottle is that it is either modern or new engraving done on an old bottle.

The reasons are that the text direction is of the modern style. The traditional practice for Chinese text is to write from right to left. But this bottle has the text written from the left to right, a modern practice.

Next, the calligraphy seems poorly executed and rough. Another sign that the text may be added later.

By the way, the inscription reads: "there are many drunks after drinking the village wine" (Cun Jiu Zui Ren Duo). It was the second half of a phrase.

Just for reference, the first part of the phrase is "wildflowers are more attractive". That may explain the subject on the other side of this bottle.

This phrase originated from a story in a short story collection, "Stories to Awaken the World". It was written by Feng Menglong during the late Ming dynasty.

He also wrote two other short story collections, which were equally popular.

There appears to be a seal at the end of the inscription, but it is not readable.

For your reference,

Regards.


Richard

[Joey]

Dear Richard,

    I'd never heard of Chinese inscribed left to right.
Best,
Joey

[richy88]

Hi Joey

All modern Chinese books have text printed from left to right.

Regards.


Richard

[bambooforrest]

Richard, thanks for the translation. The only provenance I have is that it came in a Gump's box. The carving could have been added later. The chiseling of the stone surface is very rough.