AFTER LANG SHINING/GIUSEPPE CASTIGLIONE (19TH CENTURY) CHRYSANTHEMUM A Chinese painting,...

AFTER LANG SHINING/GIUSEPPE CASTIGLIONE (19TH CENTURY) CHRYSANTHEMUM A Chinese painting, ink and colour on paper, the signature reading chen Lang Shining gong hua, with two artist's seals, together with another painting of chrysanthemum in a basket, ink and colour on paper, with a signature which reads chen Yu Sheng gong hua, with two artist's seals, both framed and glazed, 82cm x 38cm and 58cm x 32cm. (2) Provenance: from the collection of Alexander Gordon Stephen (1862-1924), and thence by descent. The pictures are now in the collection of his descendant Colonel Sir James Lindsay. Alexander Stephen was born in Banff, Aberdeenshire. After working as an apprentice at the Town and Country Bank in Aberdeen, he joined the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) in 1882. Stephen was then transferred to Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, where he was appointed as manager in 1912. He subsequently became chief manager in Shanghai in 1920. During his time at HSBC Shanghai, Stephen commissioned three pairs of bronze lions, which are still displayed at the HSBC buildings in Hong Kong, Shanghai and London. The lion on the left-hand side of each pair is popularly known as Stephen in memory of him.