Lot Essay
The studio mark, Yixiu tang, belongs to Tao Duanfang (1861-1911). He was a senior Manchu official of the late Qing period and a renowned collector, who amassed an extraordinary collection of Chinese art, and named it after his pseudonym, Tao Zhai. As one of China's most preeminent antiquarians, Duanfang amassed an extraordinary collection of Chinese art, known as the Tao Zhai Collection.