Adam's Fine Asian Art Preview 23 November 2021

64 ATTRIBUTED TO THE PILING SCHOOL CHINA, ATTRIBUTED TO THE SONG DYNASTY, 13TH CENTURY Water birds frolicking on a lotus pond Ink and colour on silk 96,5 x 151,5 cm €1,000 - 2,000 NOTES: 1. According to his owner, that painting was previously signed, but the signature part is now missing. However, it may be attributed to the Song Dynasty as well as to a professional painter of the Piling School situated near Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The so-called Pilling School had been named for its place of origin. 2. Imported from India, the lotus - growing from the slime of a pond, its blossoms blooming unsullied - was linked to Buddhist images of purity and rebirth. By the thirteenth century, naturalistic depictions of lotus in different seasons also evoked the ephemeral nature of physical beauty. 3. This painting may be linked with a renowned artist called Gu De-qian ( 顧徳謙 ) active during the late 13th century. For a work attributed to this artist with a very similar composition, please refers to a suite of two paintings preserved at the Tokyo National Museum, Japan, under accession number TA142.