The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung. Lot 2. Ming Dynasty, 16th dynasty, China. Anonymous, Melon and Grasses, ink and colour on paper, one album leaf, framed; unsigned, with six collector’s seals of Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590), one collector’s seal of Shen Zhou (1427-1509), one collector’s seal of Wu Ting (ca. 1600), two collector’s seals (partially) of the Emperor Qianlong and three other collectors’ seals at the mounting; 27 by 28.5 cm. Lot sold: 5,166,000 HKD (Estimate: 300,000 - 500,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2022

Provenance: Collection of Zhang Xueling, Taiwan.
Sotheby’s New York, Fine Chinese Paintings, 2 June 1987, lot 3.
Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2009.

Literature: Seven Classical Chinese Paintings, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2009, cat. no. 7 and cover.
Giuseppe Eskenazi in collaboration with Hajni Elias, A Dealer’s Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London, 2012, pl. 147.

Exhibited: Seven Classical Chinese Paintings, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2009.

Note: In the history of Classical Chinese painting, the depiction of melons always carries a metaphorical meaning of bumper harvests. Compare two similar examples from the Qing court collection, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan - Qian Xuan’s Autumn melon, and Autumn melon by an anonymous Song dynasty artist (see Illustrated catalogue of paintings and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, no. 2, pp. 251-252 and no. 4, pp.167-168 separately). The Qian Xuan one shares a nearly mirror composition as the current lot.

Qian Xuan (ca. 1235-before 1307), Autumn Melons, Yuan dynasty. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 63.1 x 30 cm. © National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Cf. my post: http://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2019/08/06/37546840.html

Sotheby's. HOTUNG The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1, Hong Kong, 8 October 2022