Page 300 - Bonhams Cornette Saint Cyr, Property from the estate of Jean-Pierre Rousset (1936-2021)

253
D’APRÈS SONG HUIZONG (1082-1135)
Faucon
AFTER SONG HUIZONG (1082-1135 AD)
Falcon
Ink and pigment on silk, inscription, apocryphal Yushu seal and
signature of the artist, glazed and framed.
146cm (57 1/2in) high x 70cm (27 1/2in) wide.
€15,000 - 20,000

Provenance:
Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired prior to 1935;
the painting is shown in a photograph at Robert Rousset’s Paris
apartment, circa 1950s
Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021)

Lot 253: Robert Rousset’s apartment, circa 1950s

The most artistically talented emperor in Chinese history, Emperor In Emperor Huizong’s second year on the throne (1101), the censor
Huizong of the Song dynasty (1082-1135), had the great misfortune Jiang Gongwang submitted a memorial saying he had heard a rumour
to be ruling at a time of great turmoil and decline – much of it due to that someone had entered the Rear Garden of the palace with a falcon:
forces beyond his control. In 1126 the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty invaded
the Song realm and captured the capital Kaifeng, marking the end of ‘The other day I, your subject, heard a rumour on the street that some
the Northern Song dynasty. Huizong and his Court were taken captive high-ranking men including one named Jia entered the Rear Garden
and sent north to Manchuria. He was further humiliated by the Jurchen with falcons on their shoulders to hunt birds. This I could not believe...
who gave the former emperor a new title - Duke Hunde (literally How could a ruler who is benevolent busy himself with going hunting?
‘Besotted Duke’). He died a broken man after nine years in captivity How could anyone devoted to the dynastic ancestors have the leisure
at the age of 52. His sad life is held as a warning to the dangers of to pursue the pleasure of hunting’.
neglecting government at the cost of art, and even the thin, spidery
form of calligraphy he invented - ‘slender gold’ calligraphy – is seen as The censor claimed not to believe the rumour, but he still went on at
superfluous and decedent, unsuitable for upright leaders to emulate. length on the reasons Emperor Huizong should not involve himself with
His contribution to the arts, however, is unparalleled: he established anything as cruel and dangerous as hunting. If the emperor did ever
a painting academy, created a huge collection of art, and invested go hunting, no record of it has been preserved; see P.Ebrey, Emperor
much time and money into gardens, tea ceremony, poetry, painting, Huizong, London, 2014, p.301.
calligraphy and music.
宋徽宗（款）鷹 設色絹本 鏡框
來源：
巴黎Robert Rousset（1901-1981）舊藏，於1935年前入藏
巴黎Jean-Pierre Rousset（1936-2021）舊藏

298 | BONHAMS