Page 18 - Bonhams Scholars Art and Instruments Hong Kong December 2, 2021

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ANONYMOUS This painting recorded the daily life of aristocrats in Gaochang
Living scene of a noble family, 4th/5th century Kingdom. Gaochang, also called Karakhoja, is an ancient oasis city on
Ink and colour on paper, divided by black lines into ten grids, each the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day
grid painted with figures and living scenes, one grid painted with two Xinjiang, China, where four independent statelets existed from the mid-
men in robes and hats seating on knees and having drinks, flanked 5th century until the mid-7th century.
by two grids painted with furniture on the top section; three grids on
the middle section depicting five maids preparing food and beverage, The lifestyle of Han Chinese scholars and aristocrats spread to the
above three grids in the lower section painted with a peasant and a outer areas of China during the Han Dynasty, even after the collapse of
bull farming in a field, framed and glazed. the central political power. The ear cup held by one of the male figures,
63cm (24 3/4in) x 72.5cm (28 1/2in) the loose long robes and hats they wore display a significant influence
from central China in the Han Dynasty, whereas the hairstyle and
HKD400,000 - 600,000 clothes of the female figures reveal a strong local taste.
US$51,000 - 77,000
Compare with fragments of two paintings excavated from Khara-
四/五世紀 佚名 高昌國風格紙畫 khara-khoto, Astana Cemetery, 5th century, illustrated by A.Stein,
Innermost Asia: Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su
The result of Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, New Zealand, and Eastern Iran, Oxford, 1928, vol.3, pl. CVII.
Reference NZA 9407, on 2 November 1998, notes 95% confidence
interval is 248 AD and 542 AD. 水墨紙本，畫面以黑色邊框分為十格, 最上三格描繪兩位長袍戴冠貴
新西蘭地質及核可選研究所Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory實驗室放 族文士對酌場景，兩側描繪室內家具，中間一層描繪六位侍女於庖廚中
射性碳定年檢測報告顯示本拍品有95%的可能性處於公元248至542年 忙碌場景，有舂穀、磨面、煮食、裝盤等場景，底層繪一男子扶牛車耕種，
畫面生動寫實，極富生活氣息。

此畫所繪為高昌古國貴族生活場景，從兩男性貴族裝束及手中所持羽
觴杯來看，仍有濃郁漢代高級貴族或文士的遺風。高昌位於今新疆吐
魯番，為古代連接西域和中土的樞紐，漢代在此屯田，設西域都護府。
魏晉中央政府崩潰之後，此處出現多個匈奴人及漢人建立的獨立王
國。1920年代斯坦因在吐魯番阿斯塔納地區發掘出極為類似的紙畫，
見斯坦因，《亞洲腹地》，牛津，1928年，卷3，圖版CVII。

Two paintings excavated from Khara-khara-khoto,
Astana Cemetery, 5th century
五世紀 阿斯塔納出土紙畫

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