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Lot Essay
ESTIMATE ON REQUEST
NOTE:
1. The woodblock print of the Iron Tablet is probably made around the second or third year of the Hongwu era (1369-70). The first Ming emperor wanted to reward and honour his generals in establishing the empire. Wei Su reported to the Emperor that the original iron tablet given by Tang Zhaozhong to King Wuyue Qian Liu was still in the family's hand and the Emperor ordered that the 15th generation grandson of Qian Liu, Qian Shangde, be summoned into court to present the iron tablet for examination. This was done in the presence of other high ranking officials and a woodblock model was made of the original iron tablet.
2. There is a handscroll of calligraphy by Qian Liu and Qian Shu in the Zhejiang Museum. The calligraphy of Qian Shu in the Zhijiang scroll, and the 'signature' by Qian Liu, matches that in the present lot prefectly (see illustration).
3. Of the twenty-three Song colophons and signatures of appreciation, many belong to friends and close acquaintences of Mi Fu (as seen in Mi Fu's Shu Shi, Haiyue Tiba, and Yue Ke's Baozhang Daifanglu). According to the colophons copied on the Zhejiang scroll, this scroll was once in Mi Fu's collection. It should have a colophon by Mi Fu, and also one by Qian Jingdi, the sixth generation descedant of Qian Liu. Unfortunately, both colophons have been lost. The remaining twenty-three colophons, however, are likely to have been written at the time when Mi Fu had this scroll in his collection.
4. Jia Sidao wrote one line on the same piece of paper as Qian Zhiru, another descendent of Qian Liu. Although Jia is historically a villian in the Southern Song court, he is nonetheless considered one of the most important of collectors in classical Chinese paintings and calligrahy. Paintings in his collection are deemed to be contemporaneous with or pre-date the Southern Song. The sentence of appreciation that Jia has written here is the only surviving calligraphy from his hands (cf. Jia's seals - see illustration).
This scroll has been examined by experts of the Shanghai Museum, Zhejiang Museum, and the Palace Museum, Beijing. A physical examination and comparision was made with the Zhejiang scroll. The calligraphy by Qian Shu in both scrolls match perfectly in every manner. The Zhejiang scroll has colophons which are later copies of the originals which are in the present lot. All experts freom the Shanghai Museum, the Zhejiang Museum, and Christie's agree that these two scrolls were originally one but became separated. Experts from Beijing also confirmed the authenticity of the present lot. Mr. Shan Guoqiang of the Beijing Palace Museum wrote an article on this scroll, and came to the conclusion that "the calligraphy by Qian Shu is authentic, and is indeed invaluable. The letter by Zhu Xi, compared to other examples of Zhu's calligraphy, also leaves no question that it is by the artist. The remaining colophons are also genuine." (translated from the Chinese).
NOTE:
1. The woodblock print of the Iron Tablet is probably made around the second or third year of the Hongwu era (1369-70). The first Ming emperor wanted to reward and honour his generals in establishing the empire. Wei Su reported to the Emperor that the original iron tablet given by Tang Zhaozhong to King Wuyue Qian Liu was still in the family's hand and the Emperor ordered that the 15th generation grandson of Qian Liu, Qian Shangde, be summoned into court to present the iron tablet for examination. This was done in the presence of other high ranking officials and a woodblock model was made of the original iron tablet.
2. There is a handscroll of calligraphy by Qian Liu and Qian Shu in the Zhejiang Museum. The calligraphy of Qian Shu in the Zhijiang scroll, and the 'signature' by Qian Liu, matches that in the present lot prefectly (see illustration).
3. Of the twenty-three Song colophons and signatures of appreciation, many belong to friends and close acquaintences of Mi Fu (as seen in Mi Fu's Shu Shi, Haiyue Tiba, and Yue Ke's Baozhang Daifanglu). According to the colophons copied on the Zhejiang scroll, this scroll was once in Mi Fu's collection. It should have a colophon by Mi Fu, and also one by Qian Jingdi, the sixth generation descedant of Qian Liu. Unfortunately, both colophons have been lost. The remaining twenty-three colophons, however, are likely to have been written at the time when Mi Fu had this scroll in his collection.
4. Jia Sidao wrote one line on the same piece of paper as Qian Zhiru, another descendent of Qian Liu. Although Jia is historically a villian in the Southern Song court, he is nonetheless considered one of the most important of collectors in classical Chinese paintings and calligrahy. Paintings in his collection are deemed to be contemporaneous with or pre-date the Southern Song. The sentence of appreciation that Jia has written here is the only surviving calligraphy from his hands (cf. Jia's seals - see illustration).
This scroll has been examined by experts of the Shanghai Museum, Zhejiang Museum, and the Palace Museum, Beijing. A physical examination and comparision was made with the Zhejiang scroll. The calligraphy by Qian Shu in both scrolls match perfectly in every manner. The Zhejiang scroll has colophons which are later copies of the originals which are in the present lot. All experts freom the Shanghai Museum, the Zhejiang Museum, and Christie's agree that these two scrolls were originally one but became separated. Experts from Beijing also confirmed the authenticity of the present lot. Mr. Shan Guoqiang of the Beijing Palace Museum wrote an article on this scroll, and came to the conclusion that "the calligraphy by Qian Shu is authentic, and is indeed invaluable. The letter by Zhu Xi, compared to other examples of Zhu's calligraphy, also leaves no question that it is by the artist. The remaining colophons are also genuine." (translated from the Chinese).