Lot 205: LI TANG, SONG LANDSCAPE LONG HAND SCROLL PAINTING

11th/12th Century, Li Tang (李唐; 1050-1130) Chinese Song Dynasty traditional painting of ink on paper, laid to silk, long hand scroll. Grisaille hand painting with fine brush strokes, depicting waterside and misty mountainous landscape scene. Showing characters inscriptions, and red signature seals. Mounted on pale-creme silk border, with celadon silk cover.

Scroll Width: 18 5/8" Full Scroll Length: 508 1/4"

Ink on paper

Song Dynasty

Over all in EXCELLENT condition, with natural imperfection on the medium (paper or silk), regardless from any major damages; includes light blooms, discoloration and minor fading. Consider Normal due to the ages. All lots are sold as is and where is. Lauren Galleries provides condition reports upon request to aide in your bidding decision. No statement regarding age, condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalog or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. All sales are final, Lauren Galleries does not give refunds based on condition. Lauren Galleries does not perform any shipping or packing services. We do have a list of suggested shippers who gladly provide quotes prior to your bidding. Please visit our webpage for a list of recommended shippers.

Li Tang (李唐; c. 1050-1130) courtesy name Xigu 晞古, was a Song dynasty Chinese landscape painter who practised at Kaifeng and Hangzhou. He forms a link between earlier painters such as Guo Xi, Fan Kuan and Li Cheng and later artists such as Xia Gui and Ma Yuan. He perfected the technique of "axe-cut" brush-strokes. Li Tang was born ca. 1050, a native of Heyang. Already in his early years he earned his living by painting. Sometime after 1100, under Emperor Huizong, he earned the highest rank in the Painting Academy at the court in Bianjing (now Kaifeng). He survived the invasion by the Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1126–27, and, together with the court, moved to Qiantang (now Hangzhou), which became the capital city of the newly established Southern Song Dynasty. He continued to serve as painter in the court under Emperor Gaozong, and died circa 1130. Li was among the most influential of the early Southern Song landscape artists and had many followers. He represented a vital link between the Northern Song school (Guo Xi, Fan Kuan, Li Cheng, and others), and the later Southern Song painters, such as Xia Gui and Ma Yuan, both of whom studied Li's art. He developed and perfected the technique of the so-called "ax-cut" brushstrokes, which gave rocks and mountains a particularly fine quality. As with most Song artists, few of his paintings survive, and most are of questionable authorship. The large hanging scroll Wind in Pines Among a Myriad Valleys (also known as Whispering Pines in the Mountains; National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan) is the only painting that bears a clear signature by the artist, which is placed on one of the peaks in the top section. It reads: "Painted by Li Tang of Ho-yang in Spring of the chia-ch'en year of the Hsüan-ho Reign of the Great Song [Dynasty]." The texture of the rocks in this painting is a standard example of the "ax-cut" strokes technique. Other works commonly attributed to Li Tang are Intimate Scenery of River and Mountains, a long landscape scroll, and Sitting on Rocks Gazing at the Mist, both in the possession of the National Palace Museum.

From the heirloom collections of DR. Wu Guozhen (吳國楨; October 21, 1903-June 6, 1984) was a Chinese political figure and historian, government official who served as mayor of Hankow (1932-1938), mayor of Chung-king (1939-1941), political vice minister of foreign affairs (1943-1945), mayor of Shanghai (1946-1948), and governor of Taiwan (1950-1952) and the former Chairman of Taiwan Provincial Government. He resigned in 1953 and went to the United States. K.C. Wu lived in the United States where he served as professor of Chinese history at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. During his time in the United States, he wrote various works, including a detailed analysis on Chinese culture in the context of mythology and early history in his book The Chinese Heritage. The second part collections of DR. Wu Guozhen (吳國楨) presented and offered up to auctions: ON DAY-1: From Lot-97 through Lot-124, and continued from Lot-204 through Lot-228. ON DAY-2: from Lot-357 through Lot-386.

The Sale Will Benefit for Momentum Church, GA