GuanYin Buddha, painted & signed by Li
Gongling (1049-1106AD), Song dynasty period, certified Chinese scroll painting
on silk
Size of the painting: 51.6” x 26.35” = 131 cm x 67 cm;
Size of the scroll: 90” x 32” =
228 cm x 81.3 cm;
Length of the roll:
33.5” = 85 cm;
Six red seals/stamps:
The first seal top left (photo 7): 宣和殿宝 Xuan He Dian Bao (this is a stamp of Song dynasty emperors)
Xuanhe Palace Treasure - Xuanhe" (1119–1125) is an era name used by Emperor Huizong;
The second seal top right (photo 7) is: 宝贤堂章 Bao Xian Tang Zhang
(this is a stamp of Bao Xian Tang Zang which is famous for stone inscription);
1 square -lower right,
1 similar square-lower left,
1-middle right original,
1- middle right - later addition);
Three original
inscriptions (1-lower left, 1 - upper right, 1- lower right);
One later additional inscription
on the upper right.
Condition: silk,
mounting paper and wooden roll are very old, approximately 900 years old.
Materials: Silk,
Watercolor, Ink;
Artist: 李公麟 Li Gonglin (1040～1106) (painter)
顽伯 Wan Bo (1743—1805) (wrote his explanatory characters/notes)
Characters: 李公麟观音像 （Guan Yin Buddha painted by Li Gonglin)
Message on the right by Li Gonglin (photo 9): 天壇 左三（Tian Tan Zuo San) = Temple of Heaven, third from left.
Message on the left by Li Gonglin (photo 10): 常州马鸣寺供奉 :
means “Consecrated in MaMing temple in ChangZhou” (Jiangsu Province, China).
means that the characters were written by Wan Bo.
The Great Figure of Guanyin by Li Longmian
in the Song Dynasty, inscribed by Wan Bo.
The original name of Wan
Bo is 邓石如 (Deng Shiru), he is a famous calligraphy and inscription artist in
Qing dynasty.
宋李龙眠观音大士象 顽伯署 - these characters were
written on the right edge of the painting by Wan Bo (Deng Shiru).
Does it mean that later, in 1743-1805, Wan Bo added this notice?
-Yes, Wan Bo was an inscription artist, while Li Gonglin was very famous of painting Buddhas,
and his Buddhas were inscribed (explained) in a lot of temples after his death,
so an inscription artist like Wan Bo should
like his Buddha paintings very much.
Biography of Li Gonglin:
Li Gonglin (李公麟, 1049–1106), style name Boshi (伯時), art name Longmian Jushi (龍眠居士, Householder of Sleeping Dragon), was a Chinese antiquarian, painter, and politician during the Northern Song Dynasty.
Biography
Born into a scholarly home near what is modern day Lu'an City, Li Gonglin passed the highest level of civil service examinations at 21 and became a civil officer. He moved to serve at the capital of Kaifeng; a common path at the time.
It was there that he became increasingly familiar with
the literary figures of the day, both collecting and copying their works.[1]
Artistic Endeavors
He became famous for his paintings of horses, then he turned to Buddhism and Taoism religious painting, as well as portrait and landscape painting. His painting style was attributed to the style of Gu Kaizhi and Wu Daozi.
He made antiquarian contributions in the areas of copperware
and Jade Seal dated between the Xia Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty.[2]
Auction results:
https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6061276
Same artist LI GONGLIN (1049-1106) AS CATALOGUED IN SHIQU BAOJI was sold on Christies,
for USD
$17,607,500. Estimate: USD 800,000 – USD
1,000,000, on 15 March, 2017