Bamboo and sparrows

Description:

China, Qing Dynasty
142 x 50 cm (164,5 x 68 cm R.)
Ink and light colours on silk, mounted and framed under glass. Robust and upright bamboo rendered in ink, with leaves in various shades of grey, executed with dynamic brushstrokes. An artfully shaded garden rock anchors the composition at the lower right. Several sparrows enliven the scene: two are captured in dynamic flight, while others rest peacefully on the lower bamboo branches. Signature: Ku Hui and Shen Dian painted together in Mo Wei(?) Hall. Two seals: Zuo Chen, a.o.
In the family for over 100 years, it was acquired for his collection around 1900 by Dr Adam Breuer (1868-1944) in London, where he worked as an ophthalmologist and eye surgeonacquired for his collection around 1900. In gratitude for regaining her sight, a patient presented him with a Ming vase, and thus his passion for collecting was kindled. At the start of the First World War, it was moved from London to Berlin, disguised as medical equipment. In 1929, almost the entire collection was put up for auction at Cassirer’s, though much of it went unsold due to the poor economic situation. In 1945, the collection was packed into boxes, buried deep in the garden and covered with large bushes. When Russian soldiers searched the garden with long iron rods, they found nothing. After the war, the collection was temporarily housed in the depot of the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne. The collection was inherited by his son, Dr Richard Breuer (1912-2006), who, as a lawyer and sinologist in the diplomatic service, was regarded as an expert on East Asia and expanded the collection during his postings in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Dr Adam Breuer was also the founder of the art magazine ‘Die Weltkunst’, which remained in the Breuer family’s possession for 60 years and was run by Carlos A. Breuer.
Published in: Auction catalogue: The Collection of Dr A. Breuer / Berlin, East Asian Art, Introduction by Prof. Dr Otto Kämmel, Paul Cassirer and Hugo Helbig, 15 May 1929, p. 67, Plate XXV, No. 284 - Shen Bi, with the courtesy name Zuochen and the artist names Xiaoxiu and Wuxiangzi, was from Hangzhou. He was a scholar and painter during the Qing Dynasty. A master of both calligraphy and painting, he was particularly distinguished by his ink paintings of bamboo, in which the artistic conception guided the brush. His works - whether they depicted bamboo swaying in the wind or standing still, or exhibited varying degrees of density - were always executed with the utmost adherence to artistic principles; his compositions, which were sometimes combined with orchids and rocks, also captivated with their beauty - Partially minor age damages