Sold for: $193,250

PROVENANCE
Acquired from Gurie Gallery, Montreal, by the present Private Collection, Montreal, 1960s

Each depicting a pair of finely dressed ladies in a garden terrace and under a canopy of trees. Both with two red seals and in original wood frames.

The present pair of Chinese famille rose panels are extremely rare early works by Wang Qi (1884-1937), a master of porcelain painting and leading member of the Zhushan Bayou (Eight Friends of Zhushan) group of ceramic painters during the Republican Period (1912-1949).

Very little is known about the artist. We do know that at a young age, Wang Qi went to work in Jingdezhen in Jiangsu Province, the site of the Imperial kilns since the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). After the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), kiln potters and porcelain painters no longer had to follow the stringent schematics designed by the Imperial kiln supervisors, and were able to become much more expressive in their works. Wang Qi emerged as one of the leaders of this new “literati” style of porcelain painting. His figural works presented characters from Chinese history, literature and religion. They were expressive and highly detailed, harking back to the Shanghai School painting masters of the late 19th Century.

The current porcelain panels would have been painted circa 1920 and are exemplary of Wang Qi’s early style. The figures and background are more reserved, and there isn’t the presence of his cursive calligraphy found in his later works of the 1930’s. The faces of the figures contain highly-detailed solemn faces, there is gentle shading throughout the gowns, and the bottom right of the panels feature Wang Qi’s trademark red artist seals.These female figures pay homage to the traditional Chinese paintings of ‘beauties’ enjoying a garden, elevated by Wang Qi’s technical skill and masterful expression.

Please note: The dimensions listed are for the sight of each panel, the full panel dimensions are 35 x 9 7/8 x 1 inches each.

All prices are in Canadian Dollars

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