Chinese Scroll Woodblock Print “Zhong Youshi's Beautiful Women” - 1957

Details

Description

A Chinese hanging scroll woodblock print, mid- 20th century (1957) in the style of Zhang Daqian, a master Chinese painter … Read more A Chinese hanging scroll woodblock print, mid- 20th century (1957) in the style of Zhang Daqian, a master Chinese painter (1899–1983). Depicting two beautiful ladies at a desk against a background of rocky crags, dramatic vertical cliffs, and delicate flowering branches or foliage stretching upward.

A poem written in vivid calligraphy, followed by a seal, is located in the top left. I believe part of the text translates to "Reading a few lines of the Mystical Lady's Daoist military manual (Yinfu), how could the Bronze Bird Tower lock up the spring beauty?" This is a direct excerpt from the famous classical poem "二喬觀兵書圖" (The Two Qiaos Viewing the Military Manual) by the renowned Ming Dynasty poet ⁠High Qi (高啟). It refers to the legendary Three Kingdoms beauties, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, using their strategic intellect rather than just being passive.

The seal using a classical stylized seal script is dated丁酉冬月 indicates the Winter of the Dingyou Year (1957). Signature: 倣大千古石 indicates that the piece was painted "in the style of (倣) Chang Dai-chien's (张大千) ancient stone or scholars' rock compositions".

There is also a label on the back that roughly translates "Zhong Youshi's Beautiful Women".

Provenance: From the estate of Dr. Andres Onate, former Dean of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. Dr. Onate served in China for the US State Department in the early 1980s and again in the early 1990s. This item was purchased in Beijing c 1982.

Attribution: This piece was painted and then printed during a revival era. It is signed "in the style of Chang Dai-chien (张大千)" and dates itself to a Dingyou year. Since Zhang Daqian was still alive in 1982 (he passed away in 1983), state-sanctioned art studios and academy students frequently produced works "in the style of" (fang) living and historical masters to showcase traditional techniques to buyers.

In 1982, prestigious workshops like Beijing's Rongbaozhai (荣宝斋) were famous for creating highly precise, multi-layered water-based woodblock prints (mubanshuiyin) of famous masters. They look so much like real ink washes that they easily fool the naked eye.

MEASUREMENTS
Overall – 61 ½ in (156.2 cm) long x 14 ¼ in (36.2 cm) wide
Painted area – 49 ½ in (125.7 cm) long x 11 ¾ in (29.8 cm) wide
Weighs 5.5 oz.

CONDITION
There are three creases in the scroll. One has ripped through the paper completely and there is a small puncture nearby. There is also wear to the top layer of the paper near the crease. Colors are moderately faded and there is moderate soiling to the paper. The cloth covering to one end of the wooden handle has come loose.

A captivating mid-century display piece with fantastic scholarly provenance—an ideal addition for collectors of 20th-century Chinese art, woodblock prints, or East Asian historical ephemera See less