Page 120 - 2019 September 9th Bonhams Important Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY OF VARIOUS OWNERS
920
QI BAISHI (1864-1957)
Pine and Cicada
Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper, inscribed by the
artist in seal script Ju gao sheng zi yuan, followed by a signature
Jipingtangshang laoren, Qi Baishi, with one seal of the artist reading
Qi Da.
52 x 13 3/8in (132 x 40cm)

$80,000 - 120,000

齊白石 居高聲自遠 設色紙本 立軸

Provenance:
Far East Fine Arts, San Francisco, California
Christie’s Hong Kong, 13 January 1986, lot 113

Published:
Jung Ying Tsao, The Paintings of Xugu and Qi Baishi, San Francisco,
1993, pp. 295-298

來源:
遠東藝術畫廊，加州舊金山
香港佳士得，1986年1月13日，拍品編號113

出版:
曹仲英，The Paintings of Xugu and Qi Baishi, San Francisco, 1993
年，295-298頁

The cicada has been a longstanding motif in Chinese art, with its
unusually long life cycle evoking ideals of permanence and longevity.
Carved jade models of cicada can be traced to the Shang dynasty
(1600-1100 b.c.e.), and during the Han dynasty jade cicada-form
amulets were placed under the tongue of the deceased as part of the
burial ritual. In nature, the cicada lives at the tops of trees, and thus
became a symbol of the lofty scholar or high official.

In this scroll, Qi Baishi pairs a single cicada with a pine-- also a symbol
of longevity due to its evergreen qualities. The composition recalls the
verse Cicada 蟬 by the early Tang dynasty poet and calligrapher Yu
Shinan (558-638)

“居高聲自遠 From its high position, its sound carries far”

here written by Qi Baishi in seal script. The powerful brushwork
of the poetic inscription and the pine branches contrasts with the
delicately rendered cicada, its gossamer wings and anatomical details
meticulously captured.

118 | BONHAMS