Page 95 - Bonhams Sept 2016 CHINESE WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS
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8113
ANONYMOUS (18TH CENTURY)
Magu with Deer and Monkey
Ink and color on silk, laid onto board and framed.
44 x 27 3/4in (111.7 x 70.4cm)
US$8,000 - 12,000
佚名 十八世紀 麻姑獻壽圖 設色絹本 鏡框
The Daoist goddess, grasping a lingzhi fungus (representing longevity),
is shown with a deer and a monkey (this pair producing a rebus for
the attainment of high office), together bearing numerous auspicious
symbols, including multiple gourds (abundance), lilies (purity), peonies
(wealth) and a lotus pod (peace). See a painting of a lady, dated 18th
century, perhaps by the same hand or circle, with great similarities
in the rendering of the figure, especially the exceptionally sensitive
depiction of the face, and the elaborately patterned textiles, illustrated
by Julia White and Chen Fongfong in Beauty Revealed, Berkeley,
2013, pg. 85, Cat. 16.
8114
ANONYMOUS LANDSCAPE (18TH CENTURY)
Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, with six collectors’ seals, one
reading Tao Zhai jiancang.
57 x 19 1/2in (144.8 x 49.5cm)
US$12,000 - 18,000
佚名 十八世紀 山水樓閣圖 設色絹本 立軸
Although absent in signature and artist’s seals, it is highly likely the
scroll is from the hand of Yuan Jiang (ca. 1680-1730), a native of
Yangzhou who specialized in large format, fantastic landscapes
appreciated by the wealthy merchant elite class in his hometown.
Yuan Jiang’s paintings are readily recognizable by their expansive
atmospheric qualities, detailed architectural rendering (jiehua) of
palaces, and cloud-like, swirling magical rock forms. Evoking an
otherworldly scene of opulence and magnificence, Yuan Jiang’s
landscapes revive the monumental splendor of Tang and Song dynasty
landscape paintings in the early Qing dynasty.
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