Page 100 - Bonhams Art from the Scholar's Studio, September 16, 2013 NY
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8145 (detail of colophon)
Property from a Private Missouri Collection Property from Various Owners
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Zhang Fengyi (1527-1613) Dandang (Puhe) (1593-1673)
Calligraphy in Running Script Ink plum, 1647
Fan, mounted for framing, ink on gold paper, a Handscroll, ink and light color on satin, inscribed by the artist with a date of dinghai (1647), with
poetic inscription, inscribed and signed by the four artist’s seals, and six collectors’ seals, including one of the nineteenth century Guangdong
artist, with a dedication, followed by one seal of collector Pan Zhengwei; mounted together with a calligraphic essay Ji Gu Mei Hua Shi dated
the artist reading Zhang Fengyi yin. gengwu (1714) signed Kanghu Luo Qi with four seals of the calligrapher.
19 x 8 1/4in (48.5 x 21cm) 13 x 60in (33 x 152.4cm) the painting; 12 x 180in (30.5 x 457.2cm) the calligaphy
$6,000 - 9,000 $10,000 - 15,000
張鳳翼 行書書法 扇面 水墨金箋 鏡片 擔當(普荷) 墨梅 水墨緞本 手卷 一六四七年作
In addition to his talents in calligraphy, Zhang Born as Tang Tai (唐泰) Dandang was a native of Jinning in Yunnan Province. After failing the
Fengyi (a.k.a. Zhang Boqi) was also very well- imperial examinations during the Tianqi reign in 1625 in the waning years of the Ming Dynasty,
known as a late Ming playwright, authoring Tang Tai led an itinerant lifestyle that brought him into contact with eminent figures like Dong
some of the more popular dramas of the era. Qichang (1555-1636) and Chen Jiru (1558-1639). Retreating to his native region of Southwest
The present calligraphic fan compares well with China in the final years of the Ming, Tang Tai converted to Buddhism in 1644 upon the collapse of
an example in the Metropolitan Museum of the dynasty, taking the dharma name Dandang Tonghe or Puhe. As a leftover subject (yimin) of the
Art (1989.363.88), also ink on gold paper and fallen dynasty, Dandang is among the ranks of more well-known artist/monks such as Shitao, Zhu
formerly in the collection of John M. Crawford, Da, Fang Yizhi, and Hongren who cloaked themselves in monks’ robes, taking advantage of the
Jr. anonymity afforded by monastic life.
The present painting embraces not only the ideals of yimin painting of the post-Ming, but also
carries forward the bold eccentricities that were part of the Ming painting aesthetic. While the
subject matter of ink plum is conventional, the brushwork is sharp and jarring, and the faint
touches of blue and the use of satin is striking and uncustomary. For an undated album of
landscapes and calligraphy by Dandang (Puhe) see Nobility and Virtue: A Selection of Late Ming and
Early Qing Paintings and Calligraphies from the Chih Lo Lou Collection pp.88-91.
98 | Bonhams
