Page 120 - 2019 September 12th Christie's New York Chiense Art Chicago Art Institute

777
A CARVED SMOKEY-QUARTZ
FIGURE OF LI BAI
18TH-19TH CENTURY
The drunken poet is shown reclining beside an overturned wine jar. Li Bai (AD 701-762) was the foremost poet of the Tang dynasty (AD
618-907) and, together with Du Fu, remains one of the most famous
5¬ in. (14.3 cm.) long
poets in Chinese history. His ambition to serve the Emperor Huizong as
a statesman was thwarted when the Emperor employed him as a palace
$3,000-5,000 poet composing mundane lyrics for the Court. Frustrated, he left the
Court and spent the rest of his life wandering the country and indulging
in his love for wine.
PROVENANCE
Janis H. Palmer (1917-1984) Collection, Chicago.
The Art Institute of Chicago, accessioned in 1986. A similar depiction of Li Bai, drunken and leaning against a wine jar,
can be seen in soapstone fgure dated to the 18th-19th century from the
Irving Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2019, lot 1184.
清十八/十九世紀 煙晶雕太白醉酒擺件

118 C H I N E S E A R T F R O M T H E A R T I N S T I T U T E O F C H I C A G O