Makers › Master Craftsmen
Gu Erniang
Early Qing inkstone carver of Suzhou who took over her husband's family workshop and was known as Master Gu
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Gu Dajia · Née Zou
- Roles
- Master Craftsmen
Gu Erniang, born into the Zou family of Suzhou, married Gu Qiming, son of Gu Delin, founder of an inkstone workshop in Zhuanzhu Lane, and carried on the business after her husband's early death; she worked mainly from the late Kangxi into the Yongzheng reign. She was admired for the shape and cutting of her stones, the Fujian collector Huang Ren and other scholars commissioned her and wrote poems about her work, and she was called Master Gu. A dozen or so inkstones signed as made by Gu Erniang of Suzhou survive, among them the Dongtian Yipin Duan stone, but most are doubtful and none is generally accepted as hers.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active late Kangxi to Yongzheng reigns