Message #61391

[Joey]

Dear Thomas,

   First off, what do you mean by 'crystal'?
Rock Crystal, or Quartz?
Lead Crystal?
The first bottle definitely looks to me like Quartz.
The second one, I'm not so sure.

Now, the first is signed and dated as Richard described.
But I believe it is 1980s/1990s, when an artist or artists in the PRC
were trying to fake Masters' works, but often made no effort to
really copy their styles or signatures.
We find Zhou Leyuan, Ding Erzhong, Ma Shaoxuan and Ye Zhongsan
among the masters copied.
I've never seen a Ma Shaoxian or a Bi Rongjiu or a Tang Zichuan faked...
Or a Yan Yutian, for that matter.

It could be Middle Period, and the trees and the structure in the distance
behind the badger/bear/ mutant giant rat (?!), with the non-eagle bird in the tree,
are a good attempt at copying Middle Period [ca.1870-1930] IPSB painting.

But the animal on the ground and the fact that they replaced the obligatory
eagle with another bird, makes me believe it is a modern copy.

Richard,  how does the calligraphy compare to that of contemporary artists,
as compared to that of Middle Period artists?
It looks to me to be modern, but your eye is much better than mine.

And the second looks to be a mixture of IPSB and enamelling.
And the top hat on the bird is quirky, to say the least.
Best,
Joey