A RARE CHINESE EXPORT 'NURSING MOTHER WITH INFANT AND ATTENDANT' PAINTING, UNKNOWN ARTIST Nursing mother with infant and attendant 佚名 母嬰圖
A RARE CHINESE EXPORT 'NURSING MOTHER WITH INFANT AND ATTENDANT' PAINTING UNKNOWN ARTIST Nursing mother with infant and attendant 19th Century Study of a recumbent woman wearing sheer robes decorated with foliate borders, lying on a marble-panelled luohan chuang as she breastfeeds a small child, a young girl seated behind, the pillow inscribed with excerpts from poetry written by Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling (698–756) and bearing a red seal mark, Oil on canvas Inscription to wood stretcher 57.5cm high, 78.7cm wide 佚名 母嬰圖 十九世紀 油畫畫布 款式： 洛陽親友如相問一片，水心在玉壺。春心 及一鈐印 於瓷枕； 眼看手勿動，想有動壤 於木底架 - PROVENANCE: Christie's South Kensington, 8th June 1999, lot 102 來源： 南肯辛頓佳士得，1999年6月8日，拍品編號102 - NOTE: Paintings such as these were commissioned by members of the late Qing-period mercantile class, who desired candid glimpses into the most intimate aspects of a woman's life. Zuo yue zi, or 'sitting the month', was a well-documented custom in China at this time, and involved the post-partum confinement of the new mother. The mother would remain indoors so as to recover from the trauma of childbirth, and to focus on feeding the newborn baby. The popularity of these paintings attracted Western admirers, who continued to commission these works. A related example is illustrated in Patrick Conner, 'Paintings of the China Trade, The Sze Yuan Tang Collection of Historic Paintings', Hong Kong, 2013, no.150. Another is illustrated in Anthony Lawrence, 'The Taipan Traders', Hong Kong, 1992, pp. 88-89. The Hong Kong Maritime Museum houses a related painting, acc. no. HKMM2018.0001.0001, and is illustrated in Libby Lai-Pik Chan and Nina Lai-Na Wan ed., 'The Dragon and The Eagle: American Traders in China, A Century of Trade from 1784 to 1900', vol. I, Hong Kong, 2018, no. 5.30. Similar paintings have also been sold at auction. A comparable, but larger, painting, was offered at Sothebys New York, 15th September 2015, lot 221. This painting exhibits some striking similarities to the present lot - the mother is wearing almost identical robes and jewellery, the seated attendant in an identical pose and with similar coiffure and dress, and the trio are resting on a marble-panelled daybed. The painting offered at Sotheby's, however, includes many more details, notably including an open window that looks out onto the harbour in Canton. This harbour view allows for relatively accurate dating of the painting due to the buildings present and the named ships in the water, and is dated as circa 1870. This painting also contains a poem, roughly translating as 'Much like spring sunshine, this piece of jade defies value; seize the moment.', which differs from a related painting house in the Peabody Essex Museum, which translates as "Clouds remind him of her robes, flowers of her face: Spring breezes brush the railing, wet with dew." A related painting was offered at Sotheby's, New York, 17th March 2021, lot 269; Another sold at Sotheby's, New York, 15 September 2015, lot 221 ($112,500 USD);Click here to share:Request a condition report
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A RARE CHINESE EXPORT 'NURSING MOTHER WITH INFANT AND ATTENDANT' PAINTING UNKNOWN ARTIST Nursing mother with infant and attendant 19th Century Study of a recumbent woman wearing sheer robes decorated with foliate borders, lying on a marble-panelled luohan chuang as she breastfeeds a small child, a young girl seated behind, the pillow inscribed with excerpts from poetry written by Tang dynasty poet Wang Changling (698–756) and bearing a red seal mark, Oil on canvas Inscription to wood stretcher 57.5cm high, 78.7cm wide 佚名 母嬰圖 十九世紀 油畫畫布 款式： 洛陽親友如相問一片，水心在玉壺。春心 及一鈐印 於瓷枕； 眼看手勿動，想有動壤 於木底架 - PROVENANCE: Christie's South Kensington, 8th June 1999, lot 102 來源： 南肯辛頓佳士得，1999年6月8日，拍品編號102 - NOTE: Paintings such as these were commissioned by members of the late Qing-period mercantile class, who desired candid glimpses into the most intimate aspects of a woman's life. Zuo yue zi, or 'sitting the month', was a well-documented custom in China at this time, and involved the post-partum confinement of the new mother. The mother would remain indoors so as to recover from the trauma of childbirth, and to focus on feeding the newborn baby. The popularity of these paintings attracted Western admirers, who continued to commission these works. A related example is illustrated in Patrick Conner, 'Paintings of the China Trade, The Sze Yuan Tang Collection of Historic Paintings', Hong Kong, 2013, no.150. Another is illustrated in Anthony Lawrence, 'The Taipan Traders', Hong Kong, 1992, pp. 88-89. The Hong Kong Maritime Museum houses a related painting, acc. no. HKMM2018.0001.0001, and is illustrated in Libby Lai-Pik Chan and Nina Lai-Na Wan ed., 'The Dragon and The Eagle: American Traders in China, A Century of Trade from 1784 to 1900', vol. I, Hong Kong, 2018, no. 5.30. Similar paintings have also been sold at auction. A comparable, but larger, painting, was offered at Sothebys New York, 15th September 2015, lot 221. This painting exhibits some striking similarities to the present lot - the mother is wearing almost identical robes and jewellery, the seated attendant in an identical pose and with similar coiffure and dress, and the trio are resting on a marble-panelled daybed. The painting offered at Sotheby's, however, includes many more details, notably including an open window that looks out onto the harbour in Canton. This harbour view allows for relatively accurate dating of the painting due to the buildings present and the named ships in the water, and is dated as circa 1870. This painting also contains a poem, roughly translating as 'Much like spring sunshine, this piece of jade defies value; seize the moment.', which differs from a related painting house in the Peabody Essex Museum, which translates as "Clouds remind him of her robes, flowers of her face: Spring breezes brush the railing, wet with dew." A related painting was offered at Sotheby's, New York, 17th March 2021, lot 269; Another sold at Sotheby's, New York, 15 September 2015, lot 221 ($112,500 USD);Click here to share:Request a condition report
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