Rare Chinese calligraphy scroll resurfaces after 81 years, sells for US$22.6 million
A rare work of Chinese calligraphy long presumed destroyed in the chaos of 1945 only to resurface 81 years later, fetched HK$177.45 million (US$22.6 million) in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The work called Jishi Tie, or Accumulated Time Letter, by early Tang dynasty (618-907) calligrapher Yu Shinan, went under the hammer at China Guardian Hong Kong’s autumn auction at the Hong Kong Convention and…
An 81-year-old Chinese calligraphy scroll known as Jishi Tie, or Accumulated Time Letter, has resurfaced after being presumed destroyed during the turbulence of 1945. This rare work, attributed to early Tang dynasty calligrapher Yu Shinan, sold for a staggering US$22.6 million at a Hong Kong auction. The auction, held by China Guardian Hong Kong, took place at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The work, which is believed to be one of the four great calligraphers of the early Tang dynasty, was written by Yu Shinan, a calligraphy tutor to Emperor Taizong and a leading heir to the Wang Xizhi tradition. Scholars studying the scroll believe it offers a unique glimpse into the movement and pressure of the brush on paper, as well as insights into Yu Shinan's natural and spontaneous calligraphic style used in his everyday correspondence.
The 27cm-by-52.5cm handscroll, which bears the names of several Ming dynasty collectors and the praise of Ming dynasty calligrapher Dong Qichang, was found in the imperial collection of Emperor Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Xuantong. The scroll was left behind by Emperor Puyi in the 1930s when he took part of the Qing imperial collection to Changchun, where it was kept at Xiaobailou.
During the Japanese occupation, the collection was looted, and Jishi Tie was never traced until its reappearance 81 years later.
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