Page 68 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

涅槃寂静 | THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NAYDA UTTERBERG (LOTs 1-20)

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ATTRIBUTED TO ZHANG JIZHI (CHINA, 1186-1266)
Calligraphy – Graceful (yaotiao)

Hanging scroll; ink on paper
11 Ω x 7 ¬ in. (29 x 19.3 cm.)
With a paper certificate of authentication (kiwame fuda) by Kohitsu
Ryomin (1645-1701)
$100,000-150,000
伝張即之 窈窕

A devout Buddhist, the important calligrapher Zhang Jizhi (1186-
1266) often wrote religious texts as an act of devotion. Born in
Hezhou, present-day Anhui, into a family of high-ranking scholar-
officials, he obtained his jinshi degree in the imperial examination
and held various positions in civil services. At Tiantong Temple
near Ningbo, China, he befriended disciples of the prominent Chan
Buddhist monk Wuzhun Shifan (1178-1249). Deeply rooted in
the styles of the Tang-dynasty masters and characterized by tight,
disciplined structures and powerful brushstrokes, his calligraphy was
particularly treasured by Zen monks in Japan, many of whom knew
his work firsthand from their studies in China. Some extant works
in Japan were originally sent by Wuzhun Shifan to his Japanese
disciples who studied with him in China. His calligraphy, reading
fangzhang, ‘Abbot’s Quarters’, now graces the Tofuku-ji in Kyoto.

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