Chinese School

scroll painting, ink, gouache and watercolor on prepared paper
inscribed Cixi huangtaiho yubi ('presented to the Empress Dowager Cixi') and Guangxu shi liu nien ba yue shi liu ri ('16th year of Guangxu, 8th month, 16th day') and bearing five seals ping an ('all is well'), Cixi haungtaihou zhi bao ('treasure of the Empress Dowager Cixi'), Zhao yang qing fen, Fu tian wu liang, Bai Shun ding lai, and Da ya zhai ('Studio of Great Culture') with a wide border of alternating Imperial-yellow dragon reserves and 'flaming pearls', bats with shou characters at the corners, all on a deep blue ground, yellow and blue silk mounts

some surface creasing, scattered minor flaking to gouache, scattered surface marks and moderate soiling to surface, a few scattered minor stains, soiling and scattered stains to mount, lower edge of mount separating from roller bar, two watermarks to leaves, slight pigment traces on white ground The inscription 'Cixi huangtaiho yubi' should be translated as 'Empress Dowager Cixi Imperial Brush'.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work, depicting flowers in a vase of antique style in a Western mode of representation, is based on notable 18th century precedents. 

Under the Kangxi emperor, Western artists began to work for the Imperial court, reaching the heights of influence under the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. The most famous of these Western artists was Giuseppi Castiglione (1688-1766), also known as Lang Shih-ning, an Italian Jesuit priest who had originally come to China as a missionary. These Western artists introduced realism based on single-point perspective, aerial perspective and chiaroscuro, which had been developing in Europe since the Renaissance. 

An early example of this type of flower and vase painting in Western style is the work Castiglione painted for the Yongzheng emperor in 1723, illustrated in Maxwell K. Hearn, Splendors of Imperial China, Verona, 1996, no. 100, p. 132. In this painting, Castiglione depicts a group of auspicious flowers and grains, celebrating the ascension of the Yongzheng emperor to the throne. 

The influence of the Western artists on Chinese artists may be seen in an early 18th century painting by Jiang Tingxi (1669-1732), a noted painter of flowers, depicting lotus in a vase, illustrated in Emperor Ch'ien-lung's Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 1991, no. II-8, p. 85.  While the depiction of the vase in that work is a bit flatter than the work by Castiglione, there is a sense of depth and shading in the depiction of the lotus. A similar 18th century work by Zhang Weibang, depicting flowers in a vase to celebrate the spring festival, is illustrated in Paintings by the Court Artists of the Qing Court. The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 60, p. 230.

The seal Da ya zhai is the name of a pavilion within the Empress Dowager's palace in Beijing.