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Lot Essay
The poem on the present panel, composed by the Qianlong Emperor, is recorded in Yuzhi Shiji, Compilation of Imperial Poems, vol. 4, juan 9, dated 1773. The original title of the poem as recorded in Yuzhi Shiji can be read as 'On Yang Dazhang's bird and flower (painting), appropriating Wen Tingyun's style', suggesting the scene depicted on the panel is based on a painting by Yang Dazhang, while the poem above is after the style of Wen Tingyun. Yang Dazhang (act. 18th century) was an esteemed court painter during the Qianlong reign specialising in the landscape and bird and flower genres. Wen Tingyun (812-870) was a celebrated poet from the late Tang dynasty and was highly regarded by the Qianlong Emperor.
The inscription following the poem includes the name Wang Jihua (1717-1776), a native of Xiantang (present day Hangzhou in Zhejiang province), who served as a high official at the court of the Qianlong Emperor. Wang managed the Wuying Hall in the Forbidden City, a storehouse for various rare books and archives. In 1770, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned him to transcribe all seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Upon his death at the age of 60, Wang was given the posthumous title Wenzhuang. See Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian, Shanghai, 1981, p. 124.
An inlaid lacquer screen bearing a Yu zhi mark and an inscription including the name Wang Jihua and the same two seals was sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 1002.
The inscription following the poem includes the name Wang Jihua (1717-1776), a native of Xiantang (present day Hangzhou in Zhejiang province), who served as a high official at the court of the Qianlong Emperor. Wang managed the Wuying Hall in the Forbidden City, a storehouse for various rare books and archives. In 1770, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned him to transcribe all seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Upon his death at the age of 60, Wang was given the posthumous title Wenzhuang. See Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian, Shanghai, 1981, p. 124.
An inlaid lacquer screen bearing a Yu zhi mark and an inscription including the name Wang Jihua and the same two seals was sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 1002.