‘EAGLE IN A PINE TREE’, BY GAO QIPEI (1660-1734), EX HERBERT F. JOHNSON MUSEUM OF ART, CORNELL UNIVERSITY

拍品描述

‘EAGLE IN A PINE TREE’, BY GAO QIPEI (1660-1734), EX HERBERT F. JOHNSON MUSEUM OF ART, CORNELL UNIVERSITY China. Ink and watercolors on silk within a silk brocade frame. Painted with expressive brushstrokes, the composition depicts an eagle perched on a gnarled pine branch. The large eye, tongue, and feet are emphasized in red and bright yellow, while the remaining image is rendered in shades of gray and black. Inscriptions: To the upper left, ‘Qiedaoren Gao Qipei from Tieling’. Two seals, ‘Gao Qipei yin’ and ‘Nancun’. -Parke-Bernet, New York, 4 November 1966, lot 50 (part-lot, dated Ming dynasty). -Herman A. Metzger, New York, acquired from the above and thence by descent to his wife. -The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, United States, gifted from the above (accession number 80.079.010) and subsequently deaccessioned. The reverse with an old label inscribed with an inventory number ‘K539/2’. The plastic cover with an old inventory label from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, no. 80.79.10, dated Ming dynasty, and described as ‘Eagle in pine tree’ by ‘Kao Ch’I Pei (Gao Qipei)’. Copies of the donation record from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and the curatorial records from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art for the present lot, accession number 80.079.010, confirming the provenance and dating above, accompany the lot. The Kevorkian Foundation was founded in 1951 in New York by Hagop Kevorkian (ca.1872–1962), one of the early connoisseurs and collectors of Near Eastern and Islamic art. Kevorkian, an Armenian-born archaeologist, dealer, and scholar, assembled a substantial collection of Persian, Islamic, and Near Eastern objects over several decades and frequently exhibited and donated works to major institutions. His foundation became a major supporter of Middle Eastern studies, establishing endowed positions such as the Kevorkian Chair of Iranian Studies at Columbia University and the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies at New York University, as well as funding fellowships, publications, acquisitions, and exhibitions at museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hagop was particularly drawn to painting, and worked for clients such as J. P. Morgan, Cora Timken Burnett. Parke-Bernet Galleries was a New York based auction house, founded in 1937 by a group of employees of the American Art Association, including Otto Bernet and Hiram H. Parke. It became one of the largest auction houses in the 60s, and was acquired by Sotheby’s in 1964. The company had several high profile auctions with customers such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, or Paul Mellon. Herman A. Metzger (d. 1974) graduated from Cornell University in 1921 as a mechanical engineer and worked for International Petroleum Company. He was later named the vice president and director of Creole Petroleum Corporation. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art was opened in 1973, designed by I. M. Pei & Partners, and named for Herbert F. Johnson, a distinguished Cornell alumnus (Class of 1922), former president and chairman of S. C. Johnson, and long-serving trustee of the University. The Museum’s permanent collection comprises over 40,000 works, spanning six millennia and encompassing artistic traditions from most world cultures. Among others, it specializes in Asian art, prints, drawings, and photographs from the 15th century to the present. Dimensions: Image size 85.7 x 34.9 cm, Size incl. mounting 106.8 x 51.2 cm Gao Qipei (1660-1734), courtesy name Weizhi, sobriquet Qieyuan, was a highly distinctive Qing dynasty painter born in Tieling, Liaoning Province to a Manchu family. Although he served as a successful official-ultimately reaching high rank in the imperial bureaucracy-he is best remembered for his revolutionary contribution to Chinese painting: finger painting, a technique in which he used his hands, fingers, palms, and long fingernails instead of a traditional brush to create his compositions. His figures, landscapes, and flowers were lifelike, enriching the expressive techniques of Chinese painting and establishing him as a unique figure in the Qing Dynasty art world. He also painted in the imperial court during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. Literature comparison: Compare a related painting of an eagle by Gao Qipei, dated Qing dynasty, 161 x 74.7 cm, in the Shanghai Museum. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2017, lot 952 Price: HKD 325,000 or approx. EUR 43,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and manner of painting with similar expressive brushwork and colors. Note the size (184 x 108.5 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 April 2025, lot 169 Price: HKD 201,600 or approx. EUR 23,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and manner of painting with similar expressive brushwork and colors. Note the size (162 x 85 cm).

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