PROPERTY PREVIOUSLY FROM THE COLLECTION OF SUMA YAKICHIRO (LOTS 1355-1360)Suma Yakichiro (1892-1970) was a notable Japanese diplomat and art collector who was a close friend of Qi Baishi. As an important diplomat during the Showa era (1926-1989), Suma was acquainted with many Chinese artists while he was posted in China, working in Guangzhou and Nanjing. With his deep understanding of Chinese modern paintings, he was able to establish a comprehensive collection within a single decade. Unlike many other Japanese collectors of the time, Suma focused his collecting on modern Chinese paintings. He immersed himself in researching modern artists and schools, recording the systematic ordering and cataloguing of his expansive collection in his diaries. In 2012 the Kyoto National Museum held a special exhibition entitled Modern Chinese Painting and Japan, which featured numerous works donated from his collection. The exhibition catalogue provided an important record of 183 of Mr Suma’s diaries. All six-works included in this sale are still housed in the blue cloth that Mr Suma produced to preserve his painting and calligraphy collection. Mr Suma also inscribed detailed provenance records and appraisals onto the cloth and back of mounting of his paintings, demonstrating the extreme diligence with which he approached his responsibilities as a collector.A pair of Su Renshan Figures in Landscape from this collection will be offered in Christie’s Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy on May 28, 2018. (Lot 1003)

RONG DAKUAI (RONG XINGZHE, 1900-1963)

Small Bird

Details

RONG DAKUAI (RONG XINGZHE, 1900-1963)
Small Bird
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
132.5 x 60.9 cm. (52 1/8 x 24 in.)
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated spring, sixteenth year (of the Republic, 1927)
One collector’s seal of Suma Yakichiro (1892-1970)

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