Notes on Hiding Paintings

Author: Kong Xiangdong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The author adopts a (journalistic essay) style to narrate the identification knowledge of Chinese historical painting works from the perspective of Chinese painting appreciation and collection. This includes the styles of paintings, inscriptions, etc., accompanied by a certain number of image materials. The vices in the calligraphy and painting collection circle are inseparable from the avid collectors. For example, "digging inscriptions" (): a single inscription () refers to a list signed by the painter, while a double inscription () includes the name of the recipient. Before the Republic of China, it was generally stipulated in a painter's price list that a single inscription would double the price, as there was no deep connection between the painter and the buyer when it was purely a business transaction. Having your name inscribed was an honor for you, naturally, the price would be higher. Nowadays, even when receiving works from contemporary painters, avid collectors will explicitly request not to have their names inscribed. Such collectors are actually collecting money. Currently, single inscriptions are easier to sell, and double inscriptions, unless signed by a famous artist, are usually discounted by 20% according to ancient rules. In ancient paintings, it is common to find works that have been "dug" of their inscriptions and entered the market. The purpose of digging inscriptions is usually due to social pressures, such as when someone's gifted paintings are sold in the market, or when a family falls into financial hardship and has to sell their calligraphy and paintings. Such rumors are never good for the original owner. Removing one's own inscription is also a way to save some trouble. The effect is to create a hole in a perfectly good Xuan paper, making the calligraphy unreadable and lacking in structure. For example, this Zheng Banqiao painting would undoubtedly lose value due to such a flaw. If this Zheng Banqiao ink bamboo painting were in the hands of today's avid collectors, they would go one step further and completely remove the inscription "" (Old brother teaching painting) below the name, then have a skilled framer patch it with the same-colored paper, and feel justified in keeping it. The missing piece in the inscription area is no longer perfect, but he doesn't care. If the original inscription were still there, it would bother him. This is truly some self-deception. Due to the preferences of avid collectors, skilled framer shops that can "dig and patch" without a trace are now thriving. Ye Qianyu, before his passing, often refused to inscribe the names of recipients in his paintings, saying, "So you won't have to go to the trouble of digging out the inscriptions and ruining the paintings." I once acquired a late-period small work by Qian Songzhen titled "Pine and Stone Extend Years," painted during his stay in the West Garden of Yangzhou in 1981. The inscription reads "" (Lǐ Cui), whose surname was Yang, who was then the general manager of the West Garden Hotel, and his wife was (Corals). A collector approached me with a request to buy the painting at a good price but demanded that the inscription be removed. Was it the profit? The painting? Or even the basic principles? In the end, profit triumphed over everything, though the pain remained hidden as I sent it to the framer to have the inscription removed. This was originally an intriguing and classic small work, but after this removal, the story behind the painting was completely erased. Moreover, the three lines of inscriptions formed a sharp angle, and the large empty space above it was particularly offensive. There was also a more ruthless method of digging, where the last line of the inscription was cut off and the entire section was moved up to create a more reasonable layout. See the computer-generated effect. If this were to come loose from the frame over time, a small paper piece separate from the painting would be lost, and the work of a generation of masters would be ruined. In reality, there are many famous calligraphy and painting works with dug inscriptions, yet avid collectors insist on such works, refusing to accept the original, intact inscriptions.