Page 80 - 2019 September 9th Bonhams Important Chinese Works of Art

874
A POLYCHROME ENAMELED PORCELAIN PLAQUE
Republic period
Of tall rectangular outline, depicting an old man in a billowing red cape
and straw hat clutching a tall fishing pole, leading a young acolyte
holding an oar or a zither, their attention directed behind them as they
cross an elaborate rustic bridge in a riverside vista, the freely-painted
inscription bearing a renshen nian date (corresponding to 1932) and
bearing a red seal reading Nanchang Wang Qi.
31 1/2in (80cm) visible height of porcelain

$15,000 - 25,000
民國 繪彩過橋釣魚圖瓷板

Provenance:
From the Harold E. Stack Collection

來源：
Harold E. Stack珍藏

Though it lacks his usual tao tao mi seal, this plaque otherwise seems
to have all the hallmarks typical of the work of the ceramicist Wang
Qi (1884-1937). Note the stylized folds of clothing finished in a very
freehand style reminiscent of the Qing dynasty painter Huang Shen
(1687-1772). Note as well the fastidiously painted faces comprised
of idiosyncratic but careful choices, each stroke of which brings their
pathos and humor to life. In the present lot, these two disparate
elements of the artist’s style find a focus-point in the lushly shaded
whorls of the figure’s red cloak. The viewer’s eye is centered on it amid
the dusty, washed-out pastel colored background, from it moving to
the old man gazing intently on the little boy, and follows from him to the
boy as he looks back wistfully at the dreamlike place they seem to be
leaving.

See the masterful pair of vertical plaques by Wang Qi sold in our San
Francisco rooms on 17 December 2013 in sale 21033 as lot 8353. In
that lot, the Budai plaque especially shares these same hallmarks: a
similar subject matter of a put-upon boy assistant, similarly freehand
elaborate clothing, similarly evocative faces, a similarly gauzy land
mass lining the left vertical edge of the frame, and most importantly an
arresting image that similarly teases at a gripping narrative only partially
revealed.

78 | BONHAMS