Lot 216. Cao Xi (Active ca. 1600-1635), Scholar Sleeping in a Boat, dated 1616, 19 x 55 cm. Fan mounted as album leaf, ink and light colors on gold paper. Signature by the artist: „In the third month of the bingchen year (1616) painted after full moon. Cao Xi from Wujun (Suzhou).“ Two seals of the artist: “Cao Xi”, Zi Zixu”. Sold: €11 000 (Estimate €4 000- €6 000). Photo Nagel Auction.

A scholar is sleeping in a boat by a lake, a lute, books and a fishing rod besides him. Presumably he was watching the full moon over the lake in the night, singing and playing the lute.

Provenance: Old and important European private collection, assembled before 1930 and between 1950 and 1980.

Note: Cao Xi was from Suzhou and lived in Hangzhou. He did mostly fan paintings with figures and landscapes and was famous for his extraordinary fine ink brushwork. This can also be seen in this fine painting depicting the popular genre of watching the full moon on a lake.