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From a Distinguished American Private Collection (Lot 655)
BADA SHANREN (1626-1705)
Flowers and Birds
Details
BADA SHANREN (1626-1705)
Flowers and Birds
Album of twelve leaves, mounted and framed, ink on paper
Each leaf measures 30.5 x 27.5 cm. (12 x 10 7⁄8 in.)(13)
Each leaf inscribed and signed, with a total of eight seals of the artist
One leaf dated spring, jimao year (1699)
Eighty-six collectors’ seals, including twelve of Pan Zhengwei (1791-1850); one of Xiang Yuan (18th-19th century); twelve of Zhang Zhiqin (1907-1992), twenty-six of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), and eleven of Sum Wai (1918-1996)
One colophon of Pan Zhengwei, with one seal
Flowers and Birds
Album of twelve leaves, mounted and framed, ink on paper
Each leaf measures 30.5 x 27.5 cm. (12 x 10 7⁄8 in.)(13)
Each leaf inscribed and signed, with a total of eight seals of the artist
One leaf dated spring, jimao year (1699)
Eighty-six collectors’ seals, including twelve of Pan Zhengwei (1791-1850); one of Xiang Yuan (18th-19th century); twelve of Zhang Zhiqin (1907-1992), twenty-six of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), and eleven of Sum Wai (1918-1996)
One colophon of Pan Zhengwei, with one seal
Provenance
Tingfanlou Collection;
Wang Kemin (1876-1945);
Zhang Zhiqin (1907-1992);
Dafengtang Collection;
Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai Collection;
Christie’s New York, Fine Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, 23 November 1991, Lot 130;
E&J Frankel, Ltd, New York;
Acquired by the current owner in 2020.
Wang Kemin (1876-1945);
Zhang Zhiqin (1907-1992);
Dafengtang Collection;
Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai Collection;
Christie’s New York, Fine Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, 23 November 1991, Lot 130;
E&J Frankel, Ltd, New York;
Acquired by the current owner in 2020.
Literature
Pan Zhengwei, Record of Paintings and Calligraphy in the Tingfanlou Collection Vol. II in Tingfanlou Shuhuaji, The World Book Co. Ltd., May 1980, pp.642-646.Grand View of Famous Paintings of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties Vol. II, Guangling Shushe, 2003, p. 213. (One leaf)
Zhou Shixin, Bada Shanren and his Art in Complete Collection of Bada Shanren, Taipei: Art Book Co. Ltd., August 1974, p.57; pl.51. (One leaf)
Yang Yang, Paintings and Calligraphy of Bada Shanren in Complete Collection of Bada Shanren, Taipei: Art Book Co. Ltd., August 1974, p.121; pl.97. (One leaf)
Suzuki Kei, Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Paintings: Vol.1 American and Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 1982 May, pp.I-185-186 and I-449, pl.A19-021.
The Paintings and Calligraphy of Pa-ta and Shih-T’ao, Taipei: National Museum of History, February 1984, pl.24.
Wang Fangyu and Richard M. Barnhart, Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705), Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1990, Appendix C p. 271, pl. 123.
Wang Chaowen ed., The Complete Collection of Bada Shanren Vol.IV, Jiangxi Fine Art Publishing House, December 2000, pp.814-819.
Chinese Classical Painters Series: Bada Shanren, Beijing: People’s Fine Art Publishing House, June 2003, pp.127-130.
Qi Yuan ed., Bada Shanren Paintings and Calligraphy Chronicle, Beijing: People’s Fine Art Publication House, 2006, pp.150-151; pl.74.11.
Liu Mo, China Famous Artist Collection Series (12): Bada Shanren, Taipei: Artist Publishing House, March 2006, pp.214-218.
Zhu Liangzhi, Bada Shanren Yanjiu, Hefei, Anhui Education Publishing House, January 2008, pp.7, 623. (Two leaves)
Wang Fangyu, Collected Essays on Bada Shanren Vol.II, Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc., March 2018, p.54. (One leaf)
Zhou Shixin, Bada Shanren and his Art in Complete Collection of Bada Shanren, Taipei: Art Book Co. Ltd., August 1974, p.57; pl.51. (One leaf)
Yang Yang, Paintings and Calligraphy of Bada Shanren in Complete Collection of Bada Shanren, Taipei: Art Book Co. Ltd., August 1974, p.121; pl.97. (One leaf)
Suzuki Kei, Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Paintings: Vol.1 American and Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 1982 May, pp.I-185-186 and I-449, pl.A19-021.
The Paintings and Calligraphy of Pa-ta and Shih-T’ao, Taipei: National Museum of History, February 1984, pl.24.
Wang Fangyu and Richard M. Barnhart, Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705), Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1990, Appendix C p. 271, pl. 123.
Wang Chaowen ed., The Complete Collection of Bada Shanren Vol.IV, Jiangxi Fine Art Publishing House, December 2000, pp.814-819.
Chinese Classical Painters Series: Bada Shanren, Beijing: People’s Fine Art Publishing House, June 2003, pp.127-130.
Qi Yuan ed., Bada Shanren Paintings and Calligraphy Chronicle, Beijing: People’s Fine Art Publication House, 2006, pp.150-151; pl.74.11.
Liu Mo, China Famous Artist Collection Series (12): Bada Shanren, Taipei: Artist Publishing House, March 2006, pp.214-218.
Zhu Liangzhi, Bada Shanren Yanjiu, Hefei, Anhui Education Publishing House, January 2008, pp.7, 623. (Two leaves)
Wang Fangyu, Collected Essays on Bada Shanren Vol.II, Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc., March 2018, p.54. (One leaf)
Exhibited
Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Gallery, Sō Gen Mei Shin Meiga Taikan (Grand View of Famous Paintings of the Song, Yuan, Mingand Qing Dynasties), 28 April – 19 May, 1931.
The Paintings and Calligraphy of Pa-ta and Shih-T’ao:
Taipei, National Museum of History, 1 February-11 March, 1984.
Tainan, Tainan Culture Center, 15-31 March,1984.Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705):
San Francisco,The Asian Art Museum, 22 August - 28 October, 1990.
New Haven, The Yale University Art Gallery, 25 January - 24 March, 1991.
The Paintings and Calligraphy of Pa-ta and Shih-T’ao:
Taipei, National Museum of History, 1 February-11 March, 1984.
Tainan, Tainan Culture Center, 15-31 March,1984.Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705):
San Francisco,The Asian Art Museum, 22 August - 28 October, 1990.
New Haven, The Yale University Art Gallery, 25 January - 24 March, 1991.
Further details
The Lotus Garden: The Art and Provenance of Flowers and Birds Album by Bada Shanren
In the early spring of 1699, Bada Shanren painted Flowers and Birds Album. At seventy-three years old, he had reached theheight of artistic maturity. Passing through the collections of Pan Zhengwei, Zhang Daqian, and later Wang Fangyu andSum Wai, and exhibited in Japan, Taiwan and the United States, the album stands as one of the finest surviving examplesof Bada Shanren’s late flower-and-bird paintings.
Born Zhu Da, Bada Shanren was a descendant of the Ming imperial house. Following the dynasty’s collapse, he became aBuddhist monk and lived in seclusion, channeling his emotions into painting and calligraphy. His works appear sparse anddetached yet convey profound feeling beneath their restrained surfaces.
Created during his late “Lotus Garden Period,” the album depicts flowers, birds, fish, and rocks with remarkable simplicity. Bada’s mastery of empty space allows each motif to command its own poetic realm. Particularly striking are his birds with upturned eyes, whose sidelong glances seem to express a conscious detachment from the mundane world. With only a few strokes, he achieves extraordinary expressive power.
The album was recorded in Pan Zhengwei’s Record of Paintings and Calligraphy in the Tingfanlou Collection. Pan praised its“exquisite brushwork and marvellous ink effects,” testifying to the high regard in which Bada Shanren was already held byQing collectors. The record further notes that the paintings were originally accompanied by ten leaves of calligraphy.
Evidence suggests these calligraphic leaves survived into the twentieth century. At the 1931 Tokyo exhibition Grand View ofFamous Paintings of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, one painting leaf and one calligraphic leaf (Withered Willow and Solitary Bird) were reproduced in the catalogue and identified as being in the collection of Wang Kemin. A prominentbanker, statesman, and collector, Wang assembled an important collection of paintings and antiquities that was dispersedafter his death in 1945. In recent years, seven of the missing calligraphic leaves have reappeared at auction, bearing the sealsof Lanxiu Lou and the noted Ningbo collector Ma Jizuo. The owner of Lanxiu Lou was likely Zhang Zhiqin, a prominent journalist and publisher active in both mainland China and Hong Kong.
The twelve painted leaves later entered the celebrated collection of Zhang Daqian, who deeply admired both Shitao and Bada Shanren. They subsequently passed to Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai in the United States. In 1990, the album was featured in the exhibition Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705) at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, before travelling to the Yale University Art Gallery the following year and being published in the accompanying catalogue.
Over more than three centuries, this album has travelled from the studio of Bada Shanren to collections and museums aroundthe world. Its history reflects not only the achievement of one of China’s greatest painters, but also the enduring transmission ofChinese art across generations, cultures, and continents.
In the early spring of 1699, Bada Shanren painted Flowers and Birds Album. At seventy-three years old, he had reached theheight of artistic maturity. Passing through the collections of Pan Zhengwei, Zhang Daqian, and later Wang Fangyu andSum Wai, and exhibited in Japan, Taiwan and the United States, the album stands as one of the finest surviving examplesof Bada Shanren’s late flower-and-bird paintings.
Born Zhu Da, Bada Shanren was a descendant of the Ming imperial house. Following the dynasty’s collapse, he became aBuddhist monk and lived in seclusion, channeling his emotions into painting and calligraphy. His works appear sparse anddetached yet convey profound feeling beneath their restrained surfaces.
Created during his late “Lotus Garden Period,” the album depicts flowers, birds, fish, and rocks with remarkable simplicity. Bada’s mastery of empty space allows each motif to command its own poetic realm. Particularly striking are his birds with upturned eyes, whose sidelong glances seem to express a conscious detachment from the mundane world. With only a few strokes, he achieves extraordinary expressive power.
The album was recorded in Pan Zhengwei’s Record of Paintings and Calligraphy in the Tingfanlou Collection. Pan praised its“exquisite brushwork and marvellous ink effects,” testifying to the high regard in which Bada Shanren was already held byQing collectors. The record further notes that the paintings were originally accompanied by ten leaves of calligraphy.
Evidence suggests these calligraphic leaves survived into the twentieth century. At the 1931 Tokyo exhibition Grand View ofFamous Paintings of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, one painting leaf and one calligraphic leaf (Withered Willow and Solitary Bird) were reproduced in the catalogue and identified as being in the collection of Wang Kemin. A prominentbanker, statesman, and collector, Wang assembled an important collection of paintings and antiquities that was dispersedafter his death in 1945. In recent years, seven of the missing calligraphic leaves have reappeared at auction, bearing the sealsof Lanxiu Lou and the noted Ningbo collector Ma Jizuo. The owner of Lanxiu Lou was likely Zhang Zhiqin, a prominent journalist and publisher active in both mainland China and Hong Kong.
The twelve painted leaves later entered the celebrated collection of Zhang Daqian, who deeply admired both Shitao and Bada Shanren. They subsequently passed to Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai in the United States. In 1990, the album was featured in the exhibition Master of the Lotus Garden: The Life and Art of Bada Shanren (1626-1705) at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, before travelling to the Yale University Art Gallery the following year and being published in the accompanying catalogue.
Over more than three centuries, this album has travelled from the studio of Bada Shanren to collections and museums aroundthe world. Its history reflects not only the achievement of one of China’s greatest painters, but also the enduring transmission ofChinese art across generations, cultures, and continents.
Brought to you by
Carmen Shek Cerne (石嘉雯)
Vice President, Head of Department, Chinese Paintings