Southern Song and Yuan
including competing Chinese kingdoms
See also : China Chinese calligraphy Chinese art Song to Yuan porcelain Ancient Chinese porcelain Mountains in China Dragon Horse Buddhism Religious texts
Chronology : 1000-1300 14th century
See also : China Chinese calligraphy Chinese art Song to Yuan porcelain Ancient Chinese porcelain Mountains in China Dragon Horse Buddhism Religious texts
Chronology : 1000-1300 14th century
900 years ago Letter to a Friend by Zhu Dunru
2020 SOLD for RMB 150M including premium by China Guardian
narrated in 2021
A military officer and a poet, Zhu Dunru did not take part in the events of the fall of the Northern Song in 1127 CE but became provincial secretary in Shaoxing for the Southern Song and in 1135 CE followed the training for the jinshi, the highest degree of the imperial examinations. He died in 1159 CE, aged 78.
Zhu Dunru's known literary activity consists only of singing poems, a form that had previously been practiced by Su Shi, the most outstanding Song poet.
An autograph letter by Zhu Dunru was sold for RMB 150M including premium by China Guardian on December 1, 2020, lot 279. The image is shared by China Daily in their review of the top results for Chinese art in 2020 auctions.
This letter to a friend in running and cursive script calligraphy on paper 35 x 46 cm is titled Kui Suo Tie, meaning "It has been a long time since I saw you". By its size and the number of its words spread over twelve columns, it is the most important of the four surviving autograph documents by this poet.
Zhu Dunru's known literary activity consists only of singing poems, a form that had previously been practiced by Su Shi, the most outstanding Song poet.
An autograph letter by Zhu Dunru was sold for RMB 150M including premium by China Guardian on December 1, 2020, lot 279. The image is shared by China Daily in their review of the top results for Chinese art in 2020 auctions.
This letter to a friend in running and cursive script calligraphy on paper 35 x 46 cm is titled Kui Suo Tie, meaning "It has been a long time since I saw you". By its size and the number of its words spread over twelve columns, it is the most important of the four surviving autograph documents by this poet.
The Imperial Ware of the Southern Song
2015 SOLD for HK$ 114M including premium
The acceptance of the porcelain by the Song for a normal use in the palace opened a challenge to the specialized craftsmen: the vessels were to be as pleasant as jade in sight and touch. The development is rapid, with new forms, incised figured and white or celadon glazes. The underglaze painting has not yet been invented.
The emperor himself promotes this new art that reaches an unprecedented refinement with the very short operation of the Ru kilns (Ru yao) just before the invasion by the Jin. The Song control is thereafter limited to south China with a temporary capital in the present city of Hangzhou.
Shocked by these events, the Southern Song are looking to redefine their values in a compromise between tradition and progress. Beyond Tang whose luxury was voluptuous, the Song are rediscovering the various shapes of antique ritual bronzes, from Shang to Han. They inaugurated a tradition for the porcelain imitation of old vessels that will be continued up to the Qing.
Two imperial kilns (Guan yao) are installed in Hangzhou. Their location is known, and one of them was probably inside the Imperial City. This official porcelain favors the balance of geometric shapes and the quality of the material instead of the figuration. The Guan of the Southern Song achieves a sophistication comparable to the white Ding porcelain of the early Song and to the wonderful Ru wares.
On April 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a Guan vase 22 cm high, lot 1. The press release from March 2 reveals the expectation: beyond HK $ 60M.
The general shape of this bottle made 800 years ago is a hu, with a tall neck over a bulging body. It is yet octagonal from neck to base, with the exception of its circular mouth rim. Four horizontal ribs in slight protuberance offer a pleasant partitioning.
Above the dark brown ceramic that is visible under the base, the bluish-green glaze was built by successive heatings in a complex process that resulted in softening the sharp angles without a mechanical intervention on the ceramic. The final cooling creates the crackled pattern according to the fashion already promoted by the Northern Song, symbolizing the random lines of the nature.
The emperor himself promotes this new art that reaches an unprecedented refinement with the very short operation of the Ru kilns (Ru yao) just before the invasion by the Jin. The Song control is thereafter limited to south China with a temporary capital in the present city of Hangzhou.
Shocked by these events, the Southern Song are looking to redefine their values in a compromise between tradition and progress. Beyond Tang whose luxury was voluptuous, the Song are rediscovering the various shapes of antique ritual bronzes, from Shang to Han. They inaugurated a tradition for the porcelain imitation of old vessels that will be continued up to the Qing.
Two imperial kilns (Guan yao) are installed in Hangzhou. Their location is known, and one of them was probably inside the Imperial City. This official porcelain favors the balance of geometric shapes and the quality of the material instead of the figuration. The Guan of the Southern Song achieves a sophistication comparable to the white Ding porcelain of the early Song and to the wonderful Ru wares.
On April 7 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a Guan vase 22 cm high, lot 1. The press release from March 2 reveals the expectation: beyond HK $ 60M.
The general shape of this bottle made 800 years ago is a hu, with a tall neck over a bulging body. It is yet octagonal from neck to base, with the exception of its circular mouth rim. Four horizontal ribs in slight protuberance offer a pleasant partitioning.
Above the dark brown ceramic that is visible under the base, the bluish-green glaze was built by successive heatings in a complex process that resulted in softening the sharp angles without a mechanical intervention on the ceramic. The final cooling creates the crackled pattern according to the fashion already promoted by the Northern Song, symbolizing the random lines of the nature.
#AuctionUpdate: Song Dynasty 'Guan' Octagonal Vase, Southern sought by 8 bidders, sells for HK$113.9m/US$14.7m pic.twitter.com/70lTua10f9
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) April 7, 2015Southern Song - Oil Spots on the Tea Bowl
2016 SOLD for $ 11.7M including premium
The Ding kilns located in Hebei province in northeastern China were producing ceramics since the Tang dynasty. When porcelain begins to compete with jade for imperial use under the Northern Song, Ding is the most important source for these new wares. The bowls are normally stacked upside down during heating, leaving the mouth rim unglazed.
The beautiful creamy white Ding porcelains become commonplace and the court always demands more refinement. The Ding workshops add to their know-how the black porcelain bowls bringing a more pleasant vision of tea froth. The activity of the Ding kilns is not interrupted after the invasion of North China by the Jin in 1125 CE.
Ding potters know how to embellish their black porcelain with colorful effects. This practice was later extended in the Jian kilns of the Southern Song with continuous patterns described as hare's fur, tea dust, partridge plumage or oil drops.
Under the Song the tea ceremony culminated in an exquisite refinement that required in its turn an improvement of the porcelain. Potters achieved an unprecedented control of the kiln settings but also of the chemistry applied to the glazes.
The tea is prepared in powder on which the boiling water generates a white froth which is more enjoyable when the porcelain is dark. The Jian kilns provide an additional visual refinement. The iron saturated glaze generates chemical precipitates that create different patterns depending on the precise time at which the process is stopped.
The basic effect consisting of streaks is the hare's fur. A more subtle next step brings a network of iridescent spots, sometimes with halos, constituting patterns known as tea dust, partridge feather or oil spot. Modern chemists failed to reproduce the chemical purity of the iron oxide of the grown solidified drops from the Song porcelain.
On September 15 in New York, Christie's sells a tea bowl 12 cm in diameter realized in Jian technique during the period of the Southern Song around 800 years ago, lot 707 estimated $ 1.5M, with its rare and beautiful wall surface of oil spots on a black background.
The Japanese continued to enjoy the black tea bowls of the Song which they imitated under the name of tenmoku. The bowl for sale is accompanied by a lacquered box probably from Edo period and was registered in Japan as an important art object from 1935 to 2015. It comes from a Japanese collection of old Chinese porcelains.
This piece is the highlight of the second sale of the Linyushanren collection of Song dynasty ceramics. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
The beautiful creamy white Ding porcelains become commonplace and the court always demands more refinement. The Ding workshops add to their know-how the black porcelain bowls bringing a more pleasant vision of tea froth. The activity of the Ding kilns is not interrupted after the invasion of North China by the Jin in 1125 CE.
Ding potters know how to embellish their black porcelain with colorful effects. This practice was later extended in the Jian kilns of the Southern Song with continuous patterns described as hare's fur, tea dust, partridge plumage or oil drops.
Under the Song the tea ceremony culminated in an exquisite refinement that required in its turn an improvement of the porcelain. Potters achieved an unprecedented control of the kiln settings but also of the chemistry applied to the glazes.
The tea is prepared in powder on which the boiling water generates a white froth which is more enjoyable when the porcelain is dark. The Jian kilns provide an additional visual refinement. The iron saturated glaze generates chemical precipitates that create different patterns depending on the precise time at which the process is stopped.
The basic effect consisting of streaks is the hare's fur. A more subtle next step brings a network of iridescent spots, sometimes with halos, constituting patterns known as tea dust, partridge feather or oil spot. Modern chemists failed to reproduce the chemical purity of the iron oxide of the grown solidified drops from the Song porcelain.
On September 15 in New York, Christie's sells a tea bowl 12 cm in diameter realized in Jian technique during the period of the Southern Song around 800 years ago, lot 707 estimated $ 1.5M, with its rare and beautiful wall surface of oil spots on a black background.
The Japanese continued to enjoy the black tea bowls of the Song which they imitated under the name of tenmoku. The bowl for sale is accompanied by a lacquered box probably from Edo period and was registered in Japan as an important art object from 1935 to 2015. It comes from a Japanese collection of old Chinese porcelains.
This piece is the highlight of the second sale of the Linyushanren collection of Song dynasty ceramics. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.
A very rare Jian Tea Bowl from the Song Dynasty sold for $11.7 million this morninghttps://t.co/xlKOJfoVrH pic.twitter.com/BeS3pwAcdi
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) September 15, 2016
1244 Six Sons of the Dragon King
2017 SOLD for $ 49M including premium
The dragons, symbols of the emperor and his family, know how to confront the forces of nature. Their sinuous bodies sail like in weightlessness amidst clouds and waves. The varied expressions of their faces are always vigorous.
The hand scroll is an art much more refined than a mere drawing. The image is read from right to left as it is unfolded, offering the scene of a real action. The paper should also be exquisite in the touch.
Towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the artist Chen Rong pushed his ink pictures of dragons to the rank of masterpieces. His scrolls were much admired by the Qianlong emperor who commented on the colophons and stamped his seals.
The drawing of the fabulous beast by Chen Rong is sharp and detailed, in contrast to its wet surrounding realized by an original method of ink spraying. In the Taoist tradition, such a scene is a magical summon to rain.
The Boston Museum retains a scroll starring nine young sons of the Dragon King, 46 cm high for 15 m long, including on the painting two autograph inscriptions that provide an estimate of the date of the artwork at 1244 of our calendar.
On March 15 in New York, Christie's sells a scroll featuring six dragons in a style similar as in the Boston specimen. Signed by one seal of the artist, it is 35 cm high with a length of 4.40 m for the image and 83 cm for the calligraphy. De-accessioned from the Fujita Museum in Osaka, this artwork is estimated $ 1,2M, lot 507. It is handled for our pleasure in the video shared by the auction house.
The hand scroll is an art much more refined than a mere drawing. The image is read from right to left as it is unfolded, offering the scene of a real action. The paper should also be exquisite in the touch.
Towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the artist Chen Rong pushed his ink pictures of dragons to the rank of masterpieces. His scrolls were much admired by the Qianlong emperor who commented on the colophons and stamped his seals.
The drawing of the fabulous beast by Chen Rong is sharp and detailed, in contrast to its wet surrounding realized by an original method of ink spraying. In the Taoist tradition, such a scene is a magical summon to rain.
The Boston Museum retains a scroll starring nine young sons of the Dragon King, 46 cm high for 15 m long, including on the painting two autograph inscriptions that provide an estimate of the date of the artwork at 1244 of our calendar.
On March 15 in New York, Christie's sells a scroll featuring six dragons in a style similar as in the Boston specimen. Signed by one seal of the artist, it is 35 cm high with a length of 4.40 m for the image and 83 cm for the calligraphy. De-accessioned from the Fujita Museum in Osaka, this artwork is estimated $ 1,2M, lot 507. It is handled for our pleasure in the video shared by the auction house.
Six Dragons handscroll attributed to Chen Rong, from the Fujita Museum sold for $48,967,500 against high estimate of $1.8m #AsianArtWeek pic.twitter.com/rbMbIyub5P
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) March 15, 2017
< Yuan - The Master of Chinese Calligraphy
2010 SOLD 308 M RMB yuan including premium
China Guardian prepares the sales of 20 to 23 November, to be held in Beijing. The auction house devotes a whole release to a Chinese treasure.
This is a poem by Wang Xizhi, on the theme of a security wish. This sheet has been separated into two pieces in ancient times, and the part presented for sale contains 4 lines on a surface of 24.7 x 13.9 cm.
Wang lived 1,650 years ago, under the Jin dynasty. He is considered as the leading innovator of calligraphy, because he departed from existing models to change calligraphy into an art.
The Chinese emperors ever attached a high importance to calligraphy. I do not know whether the specimen for sale is actually an autograph, but it is not later than the Song and its cursive script is much in the style of Wang.
The auction house checked its provenance up to the time of the Yuan, who preceded the Ming. Later, under the Qing dynasty, Qianlong inscribed this manuscript twice. He considered it as important, same as a script by the same author on the subject of the sunshine after heavy snow that was in the Imperial Collection.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of calligraphy has reached a very high price consistent with its prestige: 308 million yuan. The estimate, which was not published, appears to have been much lower since the bidding was started at 55 million yuan. This result just below the price of the Song calligraphy sold by Poly in June (390 million yuan excluding fees) is logical, however.
The prices published by this auction house in their list of results include premium. The result released by the press at 308 million yuan includes premium.
308 million yuan are worth U.S. $ 46.4 M.
This is a poem by Wang Xizhi, on the theme of a security wish. This sheet has been separated into two pieces in ancient times, and the part presented for sale contains 4 lines on a surface of 24.7 x 13.9 cm.
Wang lived 1,650 years ago, under the Jin dynasty. He is considered as the leading innovator of calligraphy, because he departed from existing models to change calligraphy into an art.
The Chinese emperors ever attached a high importance to calligraphy. I do not know whether the specimen for sale is actually an autograph, but it is not later than the Song and its cursive script is much in the style of Wang.
The auction house checked its provenance up to the time of the Yuan, who preceded the Ming. Later, under the Qing dynasty, Qianlong inscribed this manuscript twice. He considered it as important, same as a script by the same author on the subject of the sunshine after heavy snow that was in the Imperial Collection.
POST SALE COMMENT
This piece of calligraphy has reached a very high price consistent with its prestige: 308 million yuan. The estimate, which was not published, appears to have been much lower since the bidding was started at 55 million yuan. This result just below the price of the Song calligraphy sold by Poly in June (390 million yuan excluding fees) is logical, however.
The prices published by this auction house in their list of results include premium. The result released by the press at 308 million yuan includes premium.
308 million yuan are worth U.S. $ 46.4 M.
Yuan Dynasty - Letters by Zhao Mengfu
2019 SOLD for RMB 270M including premium by China Guardian
narrated in 2020
Zhao Mengfu was the best artist and calligrapher in the transition period between the Southern Song and the Yuan. This literati belonged to the imperial Song family and his allegiance to the Yuan was severely criticized by his relatives.
In terms of calligraphy, his writing gradually evolves to take example from the two very great masters of the Jin era, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, who had established the perfect synthesis of the various styles 950 years earlier. Zhao's writing is considered one of the best models of regular script.
On November 19, 2019, China Guardian sold a lot of two autograph letters by Zhao for RMB 270M including premium. This set is illustrated in the press release shared after the sale by the auction house.
In one of the two letters, Zhao acknowledges the ambivalence of his political position and the embarrassment it arouses among his friends. Of course, he shows himself in his best light and considers that his attitude is courageous. He seems to have really wanted to reconcile the interests of the fallen Song and of their Mongol successors. This letter has for terminus post quem the political conversion of Zhao, around 1290 CE, and for terminus ante quem his death in 1322.
The second letter of this lot describes his support and sympathy for his friends in that time of economic difficulty and his feeling of loneliness during his stay in the capital city.
One of Zhao's main occupations was the calligraphic copy of the Buddhist scriptures. A Heart Sutra was sold for RMB 190M including premium by Poly on December 17, 2017. The five 29 x 12 cm pages of this album are illustrated in the post-sale press release shared by The Value.
In terms of calligraphy, his writing gradually evolves to take example from the two very great masters of the Jin era, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, who had established the perfect synthesis of the various styles 950 years earlier. Zhao's writing is considered one of the best models of regular script.
On November 19, 2019, China Guardian sold a lot of two autograph letters by Zhao for RMB 270M including premium. This set is illustrated in the press release shared after the sale by the auction house.
In one of the two letters, Zhao acknowledges the ambivalence of his political position and the embarrassment it arouses among his friends. Of course, he shows himself in his best light and considers that his attitude is courageous. He seems to have really wanted to reconcile the interests of the fallen Song and of their Mongol successors. This letter has for terminus post quem the political conversion of Zhao, around 1290 CE, and for terminus ante quem his death in 1322.
The second letter of this lot describes his support and sympathy for his friends in that time of economic difficulty and his feeling of loneliness during his stay in the capital city.
One of Zhao's main occupations was the calligraphic copy of the Buddhist scriptures. A Heart Sutra was sold for RMB 190M including premium by Poly on December 17, 2017. The five 29 x 12 cm pages of this album are illustrated in the post-sale press release shared by The Value.
Yuan Dynasty - Heart Sutra by Zhao Mengfu
2017 SOLD for RMB 190M including premium by Poly
narrated in 2020
The greatest masters of calligraphy pass on their knowledge to the literati. Under the Jin in the 4th century CE, Wang Xizhi achieves the supreme elegance with cursive calligraphy, to which his son Wang Xianzhi brings fluidity by writing each character in a single brush stroke.
Active after the fall of the Song in 1279 CE, Zhao Mengfu is a prince-artist who belongs to the fallen dynasty. Poet, jurist, painter and calligrapher, he combines the strict clarity of regular calligraphy with the expressiveness of semi-cursive calligraphy. Despite the ambiguity of his political engagement under the Yuan, his calligraphy has always been considered exemplary. Zhao is one of the greatest calligraphers of all time.
Zhao is a Buddhist. The Heart Sutra is perfect for serving as a model for two reasons. It is the shortest of the Sutras and its most classic version fits in five or six sheets. It is especially appreciated in China because its oldest known version is in Chinese language.
Several pieces calligraphed by Zhao are known. After a long career, he dies in 1322 CE at the age of 68, and these works cannot be dated with precision. An ancient legend shows the artist copying a Heart Sutra to exchange it with a monk for tea.
A Heart Sutra by Zhao Mengfu was sold for RMB 190M including premium by Poly on December 17, 2017, lot 3535. This piece is a five-sheet 28.6 x 12 cm album, with no drawing added. The five sheets are illustrated twice in the post-sale article by The Value.
Active after the fall of the Song in 1279 CE, Zhao Mengfu is a prince-artist who belongs to the fallen dynasty. Poet, jurist, painter and calligrapher, he combines the strict clarity of regular calligraphy with the expressiveness of semi-cursive calligraphy. Despite the ambiguity of his political engagement under the Yuan, his calligraphy has always been considered exemplary. Zhao is one of the greatest calligraphers of all time.
Zhao is a Buddhist. The Heart Sutra is perfect for serving as a model for two reasons. It is the shortest of the Sutras and its most classic version fits in five or six sheets. It is especially appreciated in China because its oldest known version is in Chinese language.
Several pieces calligraphed by Zhao are known. After a long career, he dies in 1322 CE at the age of 68, and these works cannot be dated with precision. An ancient legend shows the artist copying a Heart Sutra to exchange it with a monk for tea.
A Heart Sutra by Zhao Mengfu was sold for RMB 190M including premium by Poly on December 17, 2017, lot 3535. This piece is a five-sheet 28.6 x 12 cm album, with no drawing added. The five sheets are illustrated twice in the post-sale article by The Value.
Yuan - The Good Life of the Ancient Princes
2016 SOLD for RMB 303M yuan including premium
2020 SOLD for HK$ 307M including premium
PRE 2020 SALE DISCUSSION
On November 29, 2009, Christie's sold for HK $ 46.6M including premium a painting by Ren Renfa titled Five Drunken Kings Return on Horses, lot 815.
Before Christie's sale, I had discussed this unusual and nice picture as follows :
"It is a hand scroll 2.10 m long and 35 cm high painted in ink and colors. There are nine characters overall. The kings are riding in vacillating attitudes and four grooms attend to assure that their honorable masters will not fall.
"The artist was named Ren Renfa and lived under the Yuan dynasty 700 years ago. He was following a tradition dating back to the Tang dynasty for pictures of horses of great beauty.
"The irreverent nature of the theme is a proof of wittiness rare in art history suggesting an artistic freedom at the time of the Mongolian rule."
Although his work is not uncommon, Ren Renfa was probably not a professional artist : he made his career as an imperial official in charge of the regulation of rivers.
This item was sold for RMB 303M including premium by Poly on December 4, 2016, lot 4050. It had been reported by ChinaDaily as the highest paid Chinese artwork at auction that year. The Poly catalogue had provided detailed informations.
It is in a very good contrast in spite of its age and has been carefully analyzed. The paper is conformant to the Song patterns and is earlier than the Ming. The scroll includes ancient colophons as well as the seals of three Qing emperors.
According to the opinion of a Ming scholar official, the drunken characters are the five sons of a Tang emperor. The leading prince riding a magnificent black horse is the future emperor Xuanzong whose love of pleasures will much later trigger a civil war against his dynasty.
The procession of drunken princes by Ren displays revealing similarities in its composition with an elegant promenade of women painted two centuries earlier by the Song artist Li Longmian and preserved at the Taiwan Museum.
The scroll of the Drunken Princes is now estimated HK$ 80M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 8, lot 2575. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
On November 29, 2009, Christie's sold for HK $ 46.6M including premium a painting by Ren Renfa titled Five Drunken Kings Return on Horses, lot 815.
Before Christie's sale, I had discussed this unusual and nice picture as follows :
"It is a hand scroll 2.10 m long and 35 cm high painted in ink and colors. There are nine characters overall. The kings are riding in vacillating attitudes and four grooms attend to assure that their honorable masters will not fall.
"The artist was named Ren Renfa and lived under the Yuan dynasty 700 years ago. He was following a tradition dating back to the Tang dynasty for pictures of horses of great beauty.
"The irreverent nature of the theme is a proof of wittiness rare in art history suggesting an artistic freedom at the time of the Mongolian rule."
Although his work is not uncommon, Ren Renfa was probably not a professional artist : he made his career as an imperial official in charge of the regulation of rivers.
This item was sold for RMB 303M including premium by Poly on December 4, 2016, lot 4050. It had been reported by ChinaDaily as the highest paid Chinese artwork at auction that year. The Poly catalogue had provided detailed informations.
It is in a very good contrast in spite of its age and has been carefully analyzed. The paper is conformant to the Song patterns and is earlier than the Ming. The scroll includes ancient colophons as well as the seals of three Qing emperors.
According to the opinion of a Ming scholar official, the drunken characters are the five sons of a Tang emperor. The leading prince riding a magnificent black horse is the future emperor Xuanzong whose love of pleasures will much later trigger a civil war against his dynasty.
The procession of drunken princes by Ren displays revealing similarities in its composition with an elegant promenade of women painted two centuries earlier by the Song artist Li Longmian and preserved at the Taiwan Museum.
The scroll of the Drunken Princes is now estimated HK$ 80M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 8, lot 2575. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1350 The Story of Ge Hong
2011 SOLD for RMB 400M including premium by Poly
narrated in 2020
The Chinese culture comes from a very strong literary tradition mixed with mysticism. In the 11th century CE, Mi Fu opened the way to the themes of the literate landscape, and for several centuries the graphic arts were often devoted to these ancient stories.
On June 4, 2011, Poly sold for RMB 400M including premium a hanging scroll painted in ink and wash circa 1350 CE by Wang Meng on the theme of the migration of Ge Hong to the sacred mountains. The provenance of this artwork has been established over six centuries. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Born into a family of artists, Wang Meng is considered as one of the four literati masters of the Yuan dynasty. His graphic style is very dense, with the energy of a calligrapher.
Ge Hong, also named Ge Zhichuan, lived 1000 years before Wang in the Eastern Jin dynasty. Nicknamed the Little Immortal Old Man, he was an alchemist, a doctor and above all a Taoist master. He was going to study the secrets of immortality in the Luofu mountains. He stayed there for eight years. The image by Wang shows Ge and his suite passing through a valley under a very rocky landscape. Seven poems have been added.
The Palace Museum in Beijing has a 139 x 58 cm scroll by the same artist on the same theme, dated around 1360, with another landscape in an oblique perspective, showing in the best Chinese graphic tradition the smallness of a great sage in the immense nature.
On June 4, 2011, Poly sold for RMB 400M including premium a hanging scroll painted in ink and wash circa 1350 CE by Wang Meng on the theme of the migration of Ge Hong to the sacred mountains. The provenance of this artwork has been established over six centuries. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Born into a family of artists, Wang Meng is considered as one of the four literati masters of the Yuan dynasty. His graphic style is very dense, with the energy of a calligrapher.
Ge Hong, also named Ge Zhichuan, lived 1000 years before Wang in the Eastern Jin dynasty. Nicknamed the Little Immortal Old Man, he was an alchemist, a doctor and above all a Taoist master. He was going to study the secrets of immortality in the Luofu mountains. He stayed there for eight years. The image by Wang shows Ge and his suite passing through a valley under a very rocky landscape. Seven poems have been added.
The Palace Museum in Beijing has a 139 x 58 cm scroll by the same artist on the same theme, dated around 1360, with another landscape in an oblique perspective, showing in the best Chinese graphic tradition the smallness of a great sage in the immense nature.
1350 Yuan Guan Jar
2005 SOLD for £ 15.7M by Christie's
After decades of fierce conquests, the Mongols invaded China. Now named Yuan, their dynasty succeeded the Song. After the perfection in material, robustness and geometry under the Song, the Chinese porcelain got a new artistic development with the Yuan.
The Yuan sought to establish a synthesis of Mongolian and Chinese traditions, but they were foreigners. They strengthened their position by facilitating maritime and land communication with other Asian countries, reviving the Silk Road. At that time the Chinese ceramics, especially those from Jingdezhen, are the only ones that are hygienic enough to bring no health risk to the user.
The Jingdezhen kilns were already operational under the Tang and Song but their activity is much developed by the Yuan, experiencing a sustainable development towards the end of this dynasty, from around 1350 CE.
The painting under glaze and the cobalt blue are both imports made by the Yuan from the Muslim world for the porcelains of Jingdezhen. The white porcelain was painted on the moulded body with blue figures, and then glazed and fired. The excellent quality of the cobalt imported from Iran enabled a color gradation up to the deep blue, inviting to exquisite figurative motifs.
The globular guan shape, previously used in terracotta, was much appreciated for the top end Yuan porcelain jars.
Very fond of warlike feats, the Yuan Mongols enjoyed the zaju, a form of drama invented by their predecessors the Song. The zaju was a multidisciplinary staged show with recitations, songs, dance and mime. The Yuan zajus narrated the epic legends of the Han or the Tang.
Two forms of porcelain wares were favourable to illustrate the zaju : the guan jar used for the wine and the meiping vase for arranging plum blossom branches. The cobalt drawing filled a circular scene all around the body.
On July 12, 2005, Christie's sold for £ 15.7M a Yuan guan jar 33 cm high illustrated in an intense blue from the finest cobalt, lot 88. It is similar in its construction with seven other surviving jars probably from the same workshop in Jingdezhen ca 1350. All but one have a band of breaking waves on the short straight neck. It is similar in its skillful painting with a vase inscribed to the equivalent of 1351 CE.
Its hectic story, not otherwise known in the porcelains, had occurred when the presumably invincible state of Yan attempted to conquer the state of Qi, a theme that indeed appealed the Mongol conquerors of China. The cart of the Qi emissary is pulled by two felines. This figure was directly inspired from a woodblock print made in the 1320s.
The image is titled Guigu on a banner, referring to the home city of a strategist of the action.
The Yuan sought to establish a synthesis of Mongolian and Chinese traditions, but they were foreigners. They strengthened their position by facilitating maritime and land communication with other Asian countries, reviving the Silk Road. At that time the Chinese ceramics, especially those from Jingdezhen, are the only ones that are hygienic enough to bring no health risk to the user.
The Jingdezhen kilns were already operational under the Tang and Song but their activity is much developed by the Yuan, experiencing a sustainable development towards the end of this dynasty, from around 1350 CE.
The painting under glaze and the cobalt blue are both imports made by the Yuan from the Muslim world for the porcelains of Jingdezhen. The white porcelain was painted on the moulded body with blue figures, and then glazed and fired. The excellent quality of the cobalt imported from Iran enabled a color gradation up to the deep blue, inviting to exquisite figurative motifs.
The globular guan shape, previously used in terracotta, was much appreciated for the top end Yuan porcelain jars.
Very fond of warlike feats, the Yuan Mongols enjoyed the zaju, a form of drama invented by their predecessors the Song. The zaju was a multidisciplinary staged show with recitations, songs, dance and mime. The Yuan zajus narrated the epic legends of the Han or the Tang.
Two forms of porcelain wares were favourable to illustrate the zaju : the guan jar used for the wine and the meiping vase for arranging plum blossom branches. The cobalt drawing filled a circular scene all around the body.
On July 12, 2005, Christie's sold for £ 15.7M a Yuan guan jar 33 cm high illustrated in an intense blue from the finest cobalt, lot 88. It is similar in its construction with seven other surviving jars probably from the same workshop in Jingdezhen ca 1350. All but one have a band of breaking waves on the short straight neck. It is similar in its skillful painting with a vase inscribed to the equivalent of 1351 CE.
Its hectic story, not otherwise known in the porcelains, had occurred when the presumably invincible state of Yan attempted to conquer the state of Qi, a theme that indeed appealed the Mongol conquerors of China. The cart of the Qi emissary is pulled by two felines. This figure was directly inspired from a woodblock print made in the 1320s.
The image is titled Guigu on a banner, referring to the home city of a strategist of the action.
