AN INSCRIBED RETICULATED MINIATURE OLIVE-STONE CARVING19th centuryCarved in the form of a boat with an enclosed section with an attendant depicted fanning a scholar under the awning, the entrance flanked by two further attendants, the bow of the boat carved with two gentlemen seated at a table, and a group of passengers riding on top of the roof, for a total of twenty-seven passengers, finely rendered with windows that open and close, the underside carved with a poem, paying tribute to poet Su Shi who visited the Red Cliff (Chibi), signedGusheng laoren zuo, stand and box.4cm (1 5/8in) long (3).Provenance: 十九世紀 雕橄欖核舟（底刻《前赤壁賦》）「谷生老人作」 款款識：壬戌之秋，七月既望，蘇子與客泛舟游於赤壁之下。清風徐來，水波不興。舉酒屬客，誦明月之詩，歌窈窕之章。少焉，月出於東山之上，徘徊於鬥牛之間。白露橫江，水光接天。縱一葦之所如，凌萬頃之茫然。浩浩乎如馮虛御風，而不知其所止；飄飄乎如遺世獨立，羽化而登仙。谷生老人作。The present carving is the work of Gusheng (1802-1876), a scholar who became a xiucai (county-level rank) at the age of 22, but did not progress any further. A native of Guangdong, Gusheng took up a career as a carver specialising in miniature craft.The vogue for miniature crafts, including carving on olive, peach, walnut and various other fruit stones remained popular throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. Those depicting the Song dynasty poet Su Shi and hispanions in a pleasure boat visiting the Red Cliff like on the present lot were especially enjoyed by literati. See an inscribed reticulated miniature olive-stone carving of the Qianlong period by Chen Zuzhang, included in the exhibitionUncanny ingenuity and celestial feats: the carving of Ming and Qing dynasties, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2011, pp.147-152.明清時期的雕刻工藝崇尚精雕細琢，紋飾興雅，以古代文人的雅言逸行作為題材，其中果核更是精雕細琢的極緻。詩題如本拍品般常取材於蘇東坡膾炙人口的《（前、後）赤壁賦》一文，通常所呈現者略有不同，如船上人數、陳設不盡相同，但皆精緻細小，見者無不嘆為觀止。見一展於國立故宮博物院《匠心與仙工: 明清雕刻展》的乾隆年間陳祖章雕橄欖核舟，底刻《後赤壁賦》，收錄在展覽圖錄，台北，2011年，頁147-152。