Square seal with six incised characters (Carved by He Yuanyu) (1)

1857
He Yuanyu (1840-?)
Stone (Qingtian)
W 2.5cm; L 2.5cm; H 2.3cm

Seal characters: It takes three years to get the taste.
Top Inscriptions: Ten days before the Mid-autumn Festival in the year dingsi (1857). In the style of Gui Weigu (i.e. Gui Fu). Yuanyu.
Side inscriptions: This seal was carved by Weigu (i.e. Gui Fu) and collected by Master Xu Qinggao (i.e. Xu Yubin). Master Xu was too impoverished to keep it in his collection and looked for a new owner.
Master Qinggao enjoyed great repute in Panyu, Guangdong, and was an obsessed collector of books. What a great pity that he had to sell his books in his late years. It has been almost ten years since his death. I found this stone and carved the characters in Weigu's style. Inscribed and recorded in lament for Master Qinggao by Qu'an (i.e. He Yuanyu).