China, 1644-1912. Ink and watercolors on silk. Each mounted on a silk brocade frame, and all set in a wood screen with metal fittings.

Each finely painted with a vast imposing mountain landscape above a quaint valley scene in the foreground, depicting scholars, noblemen, and farmers engaged in daily and leisurely activities within houses, one on horseback accompanied by an attendant, and another scholar walking across a bridge with his attendant in tow. A meandering river snakes its way through the landscape with lazy houseboats and fishermen busy at work.

Inscriptions: Each panel is inscribed with a couplet and sealed ‘Songpu’. The first panel dated, ‘In the spring of the year of Wuchen’.

The poetic inscriptions, from left to right:

Panel 1: ‘The cold plum and sparse bamboo share the elegance of the wind, while the rivers and mountains stretch in a single hue for thousands of miles’.

Panel 2: This couplet mentions the shadow of trees and a waterfall.

Panel 3: ‘The waterfall plunges straight down for three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the highest heavens.’ [by the Tang-dynasty poet Li Bai]

Panel 4: ‘The white-haired old fisherman returns from fishing.’

Panel 5: This couplet mentions shadows, a cliff, and banana trees in the courtyard.

Panel 6: ‘Singing alone by the vast waves, with no one to join in. Only the cry of a waterfowl flying by responds.’ [by the Ming-dynasty painter Shen Zhou].

Provenance: French trade. From an old estate near Lyon, France.
Condition: Good condition with ancient wear. Some fading, soiling, stains, foxing and browning. Small tears and losses, some with associated old repairs. The frame with signs of wear and use.

Dimensions: Image size 90 x 32.7 cm (each), Size 158 x 260 cm (total)

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 5 November 2012, lot 422
Price: GBP 18,750 or approx. EUR 36,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Chinese School, after Tang Liu, inscribed Xi Ya San Pu Tu and with a cyclical date, probably referring to the year AD1918
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of painting and landscape subject. Note the size (each panel 108 x 47.8 cm) and that this screen comprises four panels.