Page 262 - Bonhams Asian & Chinese Art November 2018

756
ANONYMOUS (QING DYNASTY)
Wang Zhaojun tuning her pipa
Ink and pigment on paper, framed and
glazed.
71cm (28in) x 129cm (50 3/4in)
£2,000 - 3,000
HK$20,000 - 31,000
CNY18,000 - 27,000
Wang Zhaojun, 王昭君, also known as Wang
Qiang 王嬙, was born in a small village
during the latter part of the Western Han
Dynasty. As a notable local beauty, she was
selected to join Emperor Yuan’s harem and,
as tradition permitted, was presented to him
first through an official portrait. As Zhaojun
did not bribe the artist like the other girls, she
was recorded in an unflattering portrait, and
so it was that the emperor overlooked her
entirely. Later, as part of the tributary system,
the emperor needed to relinquish one of his
concubines to the Northern Xiongnu tribe
leader Huhanye Chanyu. Thinking she was
the plainest girl in his court, he gave away
Zhaojun. Only when she arrived to leave with
the delighted tribesman did the Emperor
realise his mistake.
In the present lot she is depicted in the
Northern lands with a sorrowful expression,
with her Chinese lute, pipa, and a thick fur
robe to protect her from the cold. It was
said that she could play her instrument so
beautifully that geese would fall out the sky,
overwhelmed by tragedy.
She is also considered one of the Four
Great Beauties of Chinese history, the other
beauties comprising Xi Shi (circa 7th/6th
century BC), Diaochan (circa 3rd century),
and Yang Guifei (719–756).
757
ANONYMOUS (19TH CENTURY)
Fan Paintings
756 Ink and colour on silk, variously depicting
a finely dressed lady adjusting a floral
hairpin; butterflies amongst flowers; and two
gentlemen and boy attendant carrying a qin
in a landscape, two inscribed, framed and
glazed.

21.5cm (8.1/2in) diam. (3).

£1,500 - 2,000
HK$15,000 - 20,000
CNY13,000 - 18,000

757 (part lot)

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
260 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.