Lot 103: MA YUAN, SONG DYNASTY FRAMED PAINTING & CALLIGRAPHY

12th/13th C. Song Dynasty, Framed Ma Yuan (馬遠; 1160/65-1225) Framed Chinese traditional painting on silk and calligraphy, signed, and dated. The central panel with grisaille ink painting, waterside mountainous landscape. Other two panel shows themed calligraphy in cursive script, signed, and dated. Matted, and wooden framed, set behind glass.

Frame Height: 19 1/8" Width: 22"

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.

Ma Yuan (Chinese: 馬遠; 1160–65-1225) was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. His works, together with that of Xia Gui, formed the basis of the so-called Ma-Xia (馬夏) school of painting, and are considered among the finest from the period. His works has inspired both Chinese artists of the Zhe School, as well as the great early Japanese painters Shūbun and Sesshū. Ma Yuan was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) into a family of painters. His great grandfather Ma Fen served as painter in attendance at the Northern Song court in early 12th century, and both his grandfather Ma Xingzu and his father Ma Shirong held the same position at the Southern Song court in Hangzhou. At some point after 1189, Ma Yuan received the same position under Emperor Guangzong. He evidently enjoyed a high reputation at the court and was a favorite of Emperor Ningzong (who wrote several poems inspired by Ma Yuan's paintings); but nothing more is known about his life. He died in 1225. His son, Ma Lin, who rose to the rank of painter-in-waiting, was the last painter in the family. Although a very versatile painter, Ma is known today primarily for his landscape scrolls. His technique, like that of many contemporaries, was at first inspired by Li Tang. Eventually Ma developed a personal style, with marked decorative elements. A characteristic feature of many paintings is the so-called one-corner composition, in which the actual subjects of the painting are pushed to a corner or a side, leaving the other part of the painting more or less empty. Aside from landscapes, Ma's surviving oeuvre includes many different types of works. These include a number of delicate flower paintings (National Palace Museum, Taipei), a series of paintings of water and mountains (Palace Museum, Beijing), some paintings of Zen masters, etc. Many album leaves survive that can attributed to Ma Yuan, but his authorship is disputed for all but a few of them, since Ma's popularity in his day led to numerous painters imitating his style. Walking on a Mountain Path in Spring (National Palace Museum) is among the album leaves with secure attribution, as are two leaves in the collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and one in Mr. and Mrs. Dean Perry Collection, Cleveland, Ohio. A group of hand scrolls survives as well, including one of the most important works, The Four Sages of Shangshan, in the collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum in Ohio. In the history of science and technology in China, Ma Yuan is remembered as being the first to depict a fishing reel in artwork (i.e. in his painting Angler on a Wintry Lake).

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