Item number: A916

Year: AD 1101-1106

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.2 x 24.0 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 3.65 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D. L. F. Sealy Collection

This is a coin from the Northern Song Dynasty, minted during the first year of Emperor Huizong’s Jianzhong Jingguo era (AD 1101). The inscriptions on the coin primarily appear in running and seal script.

The era name “Jianzhong Jingguo” carries significant meaning: “Jianzhong” refers to “establishing the path of central righteousness,” and “Jingguo” means “quelling internal strife to bring stability to the nation.”

The coin’s obverse side is circular with a square hole in the centre, featuring both inner and outer rims, with the outer rim being wider and the inner rim square and straight. The inscriptions, written in running script and read in a circular direction, bear the words “Shengsong Yuanbao.”

The reverse side of the coin shows only faint traces of the inner and outer rims, with no remaining inscriptions.

Emperor Huizong of Song, whose personal name was Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song Dynasty.

He had a profound interest in tea culture and calligraphy, and he authored a book titled “Treatise on Tea in the Daguan Era,” which describes the tea art of the Song Dynasty, including tea appreciation and tea competitions. This book is the only tea monograph written by a reigning emperor in history.

Emperor Huizong also created the “Slender Gold” style of calligraphy, which he applied to his writings. The Slender Gold style, based on regular script, is characterised by its strong strokes and is considered a precursor to the Song style script.

物件編號: A916

年代: 公元 1101-1106 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.2 x 24.0 x 1.1 mm

重量: 3.65 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

聖宋元寶，這是一枚北宋徽宗「建中靖國」元年(公元1101年)鑄造的國號錢，其錢文以行、篆二種書體居多。該年年號「建中靖國」頗具涵義，「建中」意即「建立中正（不偏不倚）之道」、「靖國」，指消除黨爭，使社稷安定。

該錢正面為一圓形，中央方形穿孔，具內外廓，外廓較寬，內廓方直。錢文僅存「聖宋元寶」四字行書旋讀，而錢幣背面僅存內外廓痕跡。

宋徽宗，本名趙佶，宋朝第八位皇帝，對茶學、書法頗有研究，他曾寫下一本《大觀茶論》，描述宋代人觀茶、品茶，甚至「鬥茶」等茶藝術。《大觀茶論》除了描述宋代飲茶的現象外，更是世上唯一一位由帝王撰寫的茶葉專著。

宋徽宗也自創「瘦金體」，並將之應用於書法上，瘦金體以楷書為本，筆畫剛勁，是仿宋體的前身。