"Ten Prized Hounds"

[rpfstoneman]

Ten Prized Hunting Hounds of the Qianlong Emperor; At Least Two of Them Anyway.

It is clear that purebred, beautiful dogs were as highly prized in ancient China as anywhere else in the world. There is abundant evidence of this in Chinese art and literature, nowhere more clearly than in the famous “Ten Prized Hound” series of silk scroll paintings, executed in the 1700s by the artist Lang Shih-ning (i.e., Giuseppe Castiglione) at the court of Emperor Qianlong.


The hound seated looking back over its shoulder was called Banjin Biao ("Tiger-cat [Wearing] Striped Brocade").


The dog scratching its ear with a hind leg is Chinqixian, a dark brown and grey greyhound. 

This bottle was an item in the ICSBS benefit auction and appears to be lead crystal.  It is 7.4 cm (3 inches) in height by 5.0 (~2 inches) wide.   Although the overall appearance is quite good, detail in the painting is lacking.  Thus I would only consider this a mediocre bottle at best.  That said, I do need some help on the transcription of the Chinese script. 



Would appreciate any help and additional comments.

Charll

[richy88]

Hi Charll

The bottle is unsigned. According to the inscription, it is painted in 1986 at One Bottle Studio (Yi Hu Zhai), probably a student bottle from the Ji School.


Richard

[rpfstoneman]

Thanks Richard for the quick reply.  I was thinking it was more recent then the 1986 date, and that is a bit of a surprise.  Very appreciative, Charll

[Joey Silver / Si Zhouyi 義周司]

Charll,
    I saw it at your place. If you'd like, you can post my examples (Ye Zhongsan, Wang Xisan, and Qiu Shi (C-18,19 & 20)), as a comparison.
    Thank you again for the wonderful hosting and driving. I enjoyed my whole stay, from Portland to San Francisco.
I'm now at my cousins in San Mateo.
Shabbat Shalom,
Joey

[George]

Beautiful paintings Charll !

[Pat - 查尚杰]

Charll

I personally like the painting a lot.  The artist matches Castiglione's style well, in my view.