Ink, watercolors, and gilt on paper. Portrait of the young Jin Yiyi, masterfully executed by the artist in the style of mural paintings from the Tang period, with elaborately coiffured hair, wearing long flowing robes with finely decorated yet somewhat ‘worn’ hems.

Inscriptions: Signed Zhang Yuan. Dated yiyou year (corresponding to 1945). Inscribed “Lady Jin Yiyi, in the style of paintings from the Tang period, of the Mogao Caves”. Two seals: Zhang Yuan zhi yin and Daqian. Note that “Lady Jin Yiyi” was in fact Jin Ce (1882-1948), spouse of calligraph and poet Quan Tigan.

Provenance: From a reputed private collection of paintings. Paper label with inventory number ‘38’ to one of the wooden scroll pegs.
Condition: Excellent condition with very minor wear and microscopic foxing. The mounting at the upper edge with extensive wear, several tears, and partially repaired with old tape, the painting itself not affected at all.

Dimensions: Image size 86.9 x 35.6 cm

Mounted as a hanging scroll with finely carved and lacquered wooden handles.

Expert’s note: The ‘wear’ on the hems and on the less elaborately decorated ribbon is clearly intended by the artist, as the present ‘abrasions’ are limited entirely to them and not seen elsewhere in the painting. The neatly painted floral borders, though at first glance barely visible below the layer of ‘abrasions’, create a striking contrast that reminds us of the inherent yet often overlooked contradictions in nostalgia for a long-lost age.

Zhang Daqian was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter. In addition, he is regarded as one of the most gifted master forgers of the twentieth century. After the Communist Revolution in 1949, he left China and spent years living in South and North America, extensively touring Northern California. Chang’s first California solo exhibition in 1967 at Stanford University attracted an opening reception crowd of a thousand. Finally, he settled in Taipei, Taiwan in 1978. During his years of wandering, he had several wives simultaneously, curried favor with influential people, and maintained a large entourage of relatives and supporters. He also kept a pet gibbon. He affected the long robe and long beard of a traditional Chinese scholar.

The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples 25 km southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years, with the very first caves built in AD 366 as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. They are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a closely related work by the same artist at Christie’s Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Modern Paintings on 1 December 2015, lot 1554, sold for HKD 687,500, and another at Christie’s Hong Kong in Fine Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings on 29 May 2005, lot 812, sold for HKD 504,000.

張大千 (1899-1983)《仿莫高窟初唐人衣飾金怡怡夫人》
紙本設色。年輕的金怡怡夫人肖像，如初唐仕女衣飾，頭髮精心修飾，穿著長袍飄逸，裝飾精美，下擺処看上去略有“破舊”感。

款識：乙酉（1945）五月，仿莫高窟初唐人衣飾，似怡怡金夫人清鑑，蜀郡張爰。

鈴印：張爰之印，大千

專家注釋：畫家顯然打算在下擺和裝飾不太精美的緞帶上再增加些“裝飾”，因為目前的“擦傷”完全限於它們，在畫中的其他地方看不到。 整潔的花卉飾紋雖然乍看之下幾乎看不到“擦傷”層，但卻形成了鮮明的對比，使我們想起了一個失散已久的懷舊內在矛盾，但它經常被人們忽略。

來源：知名繪畫私人收藏，背面藏品標簽上可見“38”
品相：狀況極佳，磨損極小，並經過微觀拋光處理。 上邊緣的裝裱磨損嚴重，有幾處撕裂，並用舊膠帶部分修復，繪畫本身完全沒有受到影響。

尺寸：畫面 86.9 x 35.6 厘米

天地杆雕刻精美。

拍賣結果比較：同一位藝術家相似的作品，售于香港佳士得 Fine Chinese Modern Paintings拍場 2015年12月1日，lot 1554, 售價HKD 687,500；另一件相似作品，售于香港佳士得 Fine Modern and Contemporary Chinese Paintings 拍場2005年5月 29日，lot 812, 售價HKD 504,000.