Page 182 - Christie's Fine Chiense Works of Art November 2018 London

PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN LADY
159
ATTRIBUTED TO YUN SHOUPING (1633-
1690)
Peonies
Pair of hanging scrolls, ink and colour on silk
66 x 15æ in. (167.5 x 40 cm.)
Each inscribed and signed with two seals of the
artist and one collector’s seals
(2)
£15,000-25,000 $20,000-33,000
€17,000-28,000
PROVENANCE
Acquired in Asia by a Dutch diplomat, Chinese art
connoisseur, and sinologist stationed in Beijing in
the late 1940s, then by descent within the family.
The verses inscribed on these scrolls celebrate
the famed peonies of the Tang dynasty capital
of Luoyang, blooms associated with nobility and
wealth. The inscriptions also cite tenth century
master Xu Chongsi as the inspiration for this
composition. Xu was famed for his ‘boneless
method’ of painting. This technique deploys
repeated applications of colour washes and
minimal outline, foregrounding colour and texture.
Convention required artist like Yun Shouping
to allude to classical models. Yet Yun and his
contemporaries also adapted these historic
techniques, achieving bold new efects that
appealed to the collectors and connoisseurs of
their day.
惲壽平（傳） 牡丹 設色絹本
立軸一對
款識：洛陽春雨濕芳菲，萬斛胭脂染
舞衣。帳底金盤承密露，東家蝴蝶不
須飛。仿徐崇嗣筆意，南田草衣惲壽
平。
鈐印：壽平、白雲外史
藏印：懷煙閣陸氏珍藏書畫印
款識：豪貴說長安，爭先購牡丹。我
無池館地，畫與子孫看。臣叔壽平。
鈐印：壽平之章、南田寫
藏印：養福老人珍藏
來源：歐洲私人珍藏，1940年代駐北
京之荷蘭外交官、中國美術鑑定專家
兼漢學家購自亞洲，家傳至今。

180 Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price – see Section D of our Conditions of Sale at the back of this Catalogue