Dai Benxiao 1621-1693

signed Ying'a shan laoqiao Benxiao, dated the first day of the eighth lunar month of the year jiachen (September 20, 1664), inscribed with a poem, and with three seals of the artist,  ben xiao, zi wu, po qin, and two seals of the collector Cheng Qi, ke an jian shang, gu xi cheng shi zhen cang.

Previously in the collection of the renowned 20th century collector Cheng Qi

Chinese Paintings from the Ching-Yuan Chai: the Cahill Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Chinese Paintings of the Qing Dynasty, April 22 to June 2, 1974
Shadows of Mt. Huang: Chinese Painting and Printing of the Anhui School, Berkeley, University Art Museum, January 21 to March 22, 1981; The Detroit Institute of Arts, July 12 to September 13, 1981;
The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery, October 11 to November 22, 1981; Princeton University, The Art Museum, December 12, 1981 to January 23, 1982
The Single Brushstroke: 600 Years of Chinese Painting from the Ching Yuan Chai Collection, Vancouver Art Gallery, March 15 to May 26, 1985
Mists and Clouds: Masterworks of Chinese Painting, Berkeley Art Museum, March 2002; University of Michigan Museum of Art, 2002-2003; University of Wisconsin, Elvehjem Museum, 2004; West Palm Beach, Norton Museum of Art, 2004-2005; Williams College Museum of Art, 2005

Chinese Paintings from the Ching-Yuan Chai: the Cahill Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1974, cat. no. 37
Shadows of Mt. Huang. Chinese Painting and Printing of the Anhui School, James Cahill, ed., Berkeley: University Art Museum, University of California, 1981, cat. no. 50 (p. 120 and cf. p. 116)
The Single Brushstroke: 600 Years of Chinese Painting from the Ching Yuan Chai Collection, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1985, cat. no. 66, pp. 87-88
Yiyuan Duoying (Gems From Chinese Fine Arts) Vol. 41, Shanghai, People's Art Press, June 1990, no. 63, pp. 48-49
Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Paintings (Chūgoku Kaiga Sōgō Zuroku), Kei Suzuki, comp.  American and Canadian Collections, Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1982, A31-158, p. I-366.
Chinese Art in Western Collections (Chūgoku bijutsu). Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd., 1973, vol. 2, pl. 56 (cf. pp. 239-240)

-Overall in good condition -Carefully and well carried-out restorations can be found, as seen in the illustration -The colors in the illustration appear to be more intense, with a brownish tone, than that of the actual piece
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.

Inscription:
Deep green gives rise to shadows, trees coalesce as curtains. Agitated clouds float whitely, water gives birth to waves.
Thus I know the world's mundane affairs
will not reach this short bamboo fence in the mountains.
A solitary pine takes hold of the pond, the halcyon shadow is long.
On the whole road, mountain flowers send [their fragrance] far.
There is also a clear spring contributing to listening quietly.
It is as if I were at Wangchuan village. The first day of the eighth month of jiachen (1664). The Old woodcutter of Ying's Mountain, Benxiao.

Dai Benxiao, from Hexian, Anhui, was the son of the politically active Ming loyalist Dai Zhong (1601-1646). With the demise of the Ming dynasty, Dai retreated to the mountains, where he engaged in poetry and painting, and made friends with many of the most important artists of the time, including Hongren, Gong Xian, and Shitao. Hongren's influence, in particular, is evident in Dai Benxiao's painting. Both favored sparcely textured contoured rock forms rendered with dry brushwork but, whereas Hongren's compositions rely on stable shapes laid out in overlapping planes to achieve a calm balance, Dai's mountains tend to twist and turn, creating a sense of dynamic movement.