Page 122 - Fine Asian Art, Bonhams San Francisco June 27, 2017

PROPERTY FROM A TEXAS COLLECTION

8180 Inscriptions:
1)
A SET OF FOUR POLYCHROME ENAMELED PORCELAIN 山抹徽雲楊帶秋
LANDSCAPE PLAQUES 漁舟一葉超輕流
Tian Hexian, Dated by inscription to 1933 夕陽萬枝知何處
Of tall rectangular section, depicting traditional waterside landscapes 忑及煙波伴白頭
bestrewn in figural details of rustic and scholarly figures hiking 仿宋人之法隺仙田青
through mountain passes and seated in pavilions while distant
sailboats sail towards the rocky horizon, the topography formed The mountain is smeared in Anhui clouds and the willows are
by gentle greens and blues, in places blurred additionally by subtle dressed in autumn,
washes of sienna and burnt umber to contrast with the crisply While the fisherman’s boat like a single leaf ever so lightly flows,
rendered foreground details enhancing both a sense of panoramic The setting sun knows where to alight on thousands of branches,
distance and wistful nostalgia; all four plaques inscribed in two or And the mist creeps up to accompany that white haired man.
four stanza poetic odes on pastoral themes as well as with the name the ink of Hexian Tian in the Song manner
of the artist and red seals reading Hexian, three additionally inscribed
with the Guiyou cyclical date; all mounted within large rectangular 2)
frames surrounded by applied reticulated vine and lotus woodwork of 忭木騖春山靨開,
delicate softwoods. 門臨溪水小橋迴。
15 x 9 1/2in (38.1 x 24.1cm) visible dimensions of porcelain; 杖藜閒句數飛鳥，
39in (99cm) total height of frames 莫帶塵囂到此來。
癸酉冬月隺仙田青寫於珠山
US$30,000 - 50,000 I delight in trees and prance amid spring, grinning at the mountains
From my house next to the waters of the stream and its tiny bridge
Provenance My bamboo crutch tapping to idle lyrics chases off a number of birds
Property from a Texas Collection Don’t bring your worldly cares to this place!
By repute, this lot has been in the collection since the late 1990s. The winter months of the guiyou year (1933)
written in the ink of Hexian Tian at Zhushan
Tian Hexian (1894-1952) began his career in the Revenue Bureau of
Jingdezhen before going on to teach at the Jiangxi porcelain night 3)
school. It was there where he started painting porcelain. Though 白雲深處雁行斜,
among the Eight Friends of Zhushan he would become better 水瘦山癯家路賖。
known for his later depictions of prunus blossoms, his early works 仿石谷子之大意
were landscapes done in what he saw as the style of Song through 癸酉冬十二月
Qing master painters. See Simon Kwan, Muwen Tang Shoucang 隺仙田青寫於珠山
Quanji: Minguo Ciqi [The Muwen Tang Collection Series: Chinese The geese track off-kilter into the deep white clouds
Porcelain of the Republic Period] (Hong Kong: Muwen Tang Fine Arts The water is thin and the mountain emaciated, the road home
Publication, 2008), 17 and 41 for a short biography. interminable
In imitation of the overall spirit of the Stone Valley Master [Wang Hui
Compared to his later blossom plaques, his landscapes are (1632-1717)]
considerably less common. However, see Lai Suk Yee et al., the twelfth month of the guiyou year (equivalent to 1933) written with
Innovations and Creations: a Retrospect of 20th Century Porcelain the ink of Hexian Tian at Zhushan
from Jingdezhen [Xinhuo Yinghua: Ershi Shiji Jingdezhen Ciyi Huigu]
(Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2004) no 56 for 4)
a 1939 landscape plaque. That example shows the same use of 從來野意葉今古
slightly yellowish, almost muddy, areas to highlight the mottled 着箇閒人境便殊。
shades of lavender periwinkle forming the major landmasses to 仿白石老人法
evoke a sense of hazy distance. On the inscription on that published 癸酉除夕前二日
plaque, Tian describes the work as being a copy of the works of 隺仙田青寫于珠山
‘Old Man White Stone’ just as he does on one of the plaques in the The rural attitude has always been constant, surrounded by the very
current lot-- referring to the early to mid-Ming landscape artist Shen same leaves now as in the past
Zhou (1427-1509). But when you run into an idle friend there, the world around you
suddenly turns different.
In imitation of the manner of the old man of the white rocks [Shen
Zhou 1427-1509]
the guiyou year (equivalent to 1933) two days before New Years Eve
written with the ink of Hexian Tian at Zhushan

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