‘MEN WASHING A HORSE’, AFTER ZHAO YONG (1289-1369)

‘MEN WASHING A HORSE’, AFTER ZHAO YONG (1289-1369) China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912). Ink, watercolors, and gouache on silk. Mounted as a hanging scroll, on a silk coated paper frame with wooden handles. Finely painted with two men washing and grooming a white horse in a meandering river stream flowing through a mountainous landscape. Inscriptions: Seal to the bottom-left corner, ‘Zhao Yong’ 趙雍. The top-left corner inscribed with a poem by Zhu Yunming, signed Yun Ming 允明. Provenance: From an Austrian private collection. Condition: Some fading, minor soiling, tiny stains, browning, minor losses, few tears with associated repairs, and possible minor touch-ups. Some stress to the fabric. The mounting with usual traces of wear and age. Dimensions: Image size 108 x 50 cm, Size incl. frame 204 x 69.5 cm Zhao Yong (1289-1369) was the second son of famous painters Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) and Guan Daosheng (1262-1319). He followed the family tradition of painting and calligraphy, achieving fame. He especially excelled at depicting figures and saddled horses. Literature comparison: Compare a scroll painting of five horses by Zhao Yong (1291-1361), in the collection of National Palace Museum. Compare a scroll painting of men washing horses, in the collection of the Princeton University Art Museum, object number y1947-221. Compare a handscroll of washing horses in a river, in the style of Zhao Mengfu, Yuan dynasty, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 29.100.481. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s London, 9 November 2005, lot 464 Estimate: GBP 4,000 or approx. EUR 9,200 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A Ming-style painting of a horse being groomed Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and similar depiction of men grooming a horse.