郞世寧 Chinese scroll silk painting “White Eagle on the rock”, signed Lang Shining, (Giuseppe Castiglione) 1725 AD

Giuseppe Castiglione, S.J. (simplified Chinese: 郞世宁; traditional Chinese: 郞世寧; pinyin: Láng Shìníng; 19 July 1688 – 17 July 1766), was an Italian Jesuit brother and missionary in China, where he served as an artist at the imperial court of three Qing emperors –  the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors.

He painted in a style that is a fusion of European and Chinese traditions.

Chinese scroll painting of an eagle on silk, signed Lang Shining.

The first painting characters: 乙已秋月臣郎世宁恭绘      yǐ yǐ qiū yuè chén láng shì níng gōng huì. This means artist Lang Shining paint this in autumn of Yi yǐ year (1725AD). “Courteously painted by Yiji Qiuyuechen Lang Shining”

 

11 seals altogether:

One large square seal - on the top: 太上皇帝之宝 - Tai Shang Huang Di Zhi Bao (this seal is from Qian Long Emperor period) The Supreme Emperor's Treasure. Emperors usually have a lot of stamps, this stamp belongs to the emperor, and this seal means the emperor like this painting. 

 

1 rectangular – upper left; 御书房鉴藏宝- Yu Shu Fang Jian Cang Bao (this seal is also from emperors in Qing Dynasty) Imperial Study Room Appraisal of Treasures

 

1 round – middle left;

 

2 square – lower left under the characters: 臣世宁 - Cheng ShiNing;     恭画-Gong Hua;

the two seals belong to Lang Shining, 臣Cheng and 恭 Gong are respectful words to emperor.

 

 

1 large square – lower left;

 

1 round – upper right (in the tree); 古稀天子- Gu Xi Tian Zi (this seal is also from Qian Long Emperor), just means good emperor.

 

1 round small - in the needles, upper right center;

1 rectangular left corner;

1 oval in the center; The seal in second picture is: 鉴古 -Jian Gu = Appreciating the past;

 

1 rectangular – middle right;

 

Heart size of the painting: 16“x 36” inches = 40.6 cm x 91.4 cm;

Size of the scroll: 24” x 86” inches = 61 cm x 218.4 cm;

Roller length: 27.75”= 70.5 cm;

Roller ends: brown wood;

Luxury mounting, very pleasant smell, paper has several aging or water spots 3-6 mm in diameter. 

Also paper has tiny horizontal ribs with 0.5 mm step, which is a sign of antique paper used in 17^th and 18^th centuries.

Potentially age of the paper is over 200 years old.

This is a rare case, where antiquity is preserved in excellent condition.

The last several images represent microscopic photos with x50 magnification, proving that it is hand-painted, and not - a print.