明天啟 鐵錯金銀太極八卦圖如意 《天啟壬戌張鼇春製》款

the long body curving elegantly from the top to the tip, the quatrefoil head attached to a curving, strap-like upper shaft, decorated with an inlaid gold and silver design, the head with a central yin-yang symbol surrounded by the bagua ('Eight Trigrams'), all enclosed within a quatrefoil border, the upper shaft decorated on both sides with a stylised archaistic wave design, the front of the lower shaft with Daoist diagrams, flanking a zhuanshu inscription followed by Sun Shenxing zhiyong (‘Made use of by Sun Shenxing’), the reverse of the shaft inscribed in zhuanshu Tianqi renxu Zhang Aochun zhi (‘Made by Zhang Aochun in the renxu year of the Tianqi reign.’), the inscription flanked by an upper panel of the sun and moon and a constellation, and a lower panel of Daoist characters and symbols, the tail of the shaft drilled to hold a loose ring in copper

倫敦 Walter Sedgwick 夫人 (1883-1967) 收藏

Soame Jenyns 及 William Watson，《Chinese Art. The Minor Arts》， 卷 2，倫敦，1965年， 編號70
《故宮文物月刊》，台北，1984年4月，第13期，頁86

There is general surface wear and scratching to the body, and minor areas of loss to inlays, but overall good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

張鼇春所製如意寥若晨星，能有他所作萬曆、天啟兩柄如意實難能可貴，還有乾隆仿製一柄，這一組展示了明、清兩朝銅器工藝的發展和演變。此如意落天啟壬戌款，即1622年，與多倫多皇家安大略博物館藏例相近，見 Sheila Riddell，《 Dated Chinese Antiquities 600 – 1650》 ，1979年，頁148，圖137。書中筆者提到：據記載張鼇春專製鐵錯金銀如意，吏部尚書趙星南便是他主要的客人。

趙星南（1550-1627），明萬曆二年進士，官至吏部尚書。1610年趙星南題了一首關於如意的詩，可能因此有一組類似的如意如此拍品於1622年出現，如意柄背面以銀嵌銘：「其鉤無釩，廉而不劌，以歌以舞，以弗若是折，唯君子之器也。趙星南銘。」

甚有趣味的是，如此拍品，多倫多皇家安大略博物館所藏的鐵如意同樣鏤銘「孫慎行執用」字樣。 由此可見可能孫慎行同樣是張鼇春的主顧，在趙星南詩的影響下製造了一批如意，此如意極有可能是為他而造。一件明朝塗金銀，非屬此組的鐵如意，見李鑄晉及屈志仁，《The Chinese Scholar’s Studio. Artistic Life in the Late Ming Period - an Exhibition From the Shanghai Museum》，亞洲協會，紐約，1987年，編號67。