Notes on Hiding Paintings -- An Old Antiquarian Speaks

Author: Kong Xiangdong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: The author adopts a (journalistic essay) style, narrating the identification knowledge of Chinese historical painting works from the perspectives of painting appreciation and collection. The content includes the styles of paintings, inscriptions, etc., accompanied by a certain number of illustrative materials. The vices in the calligraphy and painting collection circle are inseparable from the avid collectors. For example, "digging inscriptions": a single signature on a scroll is called "single" (), while a signature with the recipient's name is called "double" (). Before the Republic of China, it was generally stipulated in a painter's price list that a single signature would double the price, as there was no deep connection between the painter and the buyer when it was just a business transaction. Having your name inscribed was an honor for you, naturally, the price would be higher. Nowadays, avid collectors, even when receiving works from contemporary painters, explicitly request not to have their names inscribed. Such collectors are actually collecting money. Currently, single-signed works are easier to sell, while double-signed works, unless by a famous artist, are traditionally valued 20% lower according to ancient rules. It is common in ancient paintings to find works that have been sold in the market with their inscriptions removed. The purpose of "digging inscriptions" is usually due to social pressures, such as when someone's gifted paintings are sold on 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 disrupting the composition. For example, this (Zheng Banqiao) ink bamboo painting would undoubtedly lose value due to such flaws. If this (Zheng Banqiao) ink bamboo painting were in the hands of an avid collector today, they would go one step further, completely removing the inscription "" and having a skilled framer patch it with matching paper, allowing them to collect it with peace of mind. The missing piece in the inscription area is no longer perfect, but they don’t care. If the original inscription were still there, it would bother them. This is truly some self-deception. Due to the preferences of avid collectors, skilled framer shops that can "dig and patch" without trace are now thriving. Ye Qianyu (Yeh Chien-yü), before his passing, often refused to inscribe the recipient's name on his paintings, saying, "To avoid you spending more effort digging out the inscription and ruining the painting." I once acquired a late-career small piece by Qian Shuzong (Qian Shu-tsong) titled "" (Pine and Stone Extend Years), painted during his stay in Xiyuan (West Garden) in Yangzhou in 1981. The inscription reads "" (Li Cui), whose surname was Yang, who was then the general manager of Xiyuan Hotel, and his wife was (Corals). An avid collector approached me with an offer for a high price but demanded 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 the painting to the framer to have the inscription removed. This was originally an intriguing and classic small piece, but after this removal, all the stories behind the painting were erased. Moreover, the three lines of the inscription formed a sharp angle, and the large empty space above it was particularly offensive. There was even a more ruthless method of "digging inscriptions": cutting off the last line and shifting the entire piece upward to create a more reasonable composition. See the computer-generated () for reference. If this piece were to be dismounted over time, the small paper piece separate from the painting, if lost, could utterly ruin the work of a master artist. In reality, there are many famous calligraphy and painting works with "digged inscriptions," yet avid collectors insist on such works, refusing to accept the original, unaltered inscriptions.