川炉梅花方孔诗文钱,背楷体诗文二句共十四字,句一直读“而今未知和羹事”,句二直读“先向百花头上开”,清朝(公元1644–1911),45.7x2.6mm,重23.9g。内穿精修,品相极美,极少见。另:此为四君子诗文套钱之一,计有梅、兰、竹、菊四种,各以不同书体录名家诗词二句,为川炉花钱代表作,亦为花钱之大名誉品。此处二句取自宋代王曾《早梅》:雪压乔林冻欲摧,始知天意欲春回。雪中未问和羹事,且向百花头上开。
China: Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 CE), coin-shaped charm with square central hole, Sichuan mint production, obverse decorated with a bunch of plum blossom flowers, reverse inscribed in regular script two poetic lines, one reading Er jin wei zhi he geng shi (而今未知和羹事) and the other reading Xian xiang bai hua tou shang kai (先向百花頭上開), 45.7x2.6mm, 23.9g. In excellent condition, inner rims exquisitely filed characteristic of Sichuan mint, extremely rare and sought after. Note: This piece is the first of a set of four charms depicting plants symbolising personal characters desirable of an educated gentleman, including peony, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum. The two lines here are adapted from a poem entitled An Early Peony by Wang Zeng in the Song Dynasty.