Title: The Planetary Deity Chenxing (Mercury) Attended by a Monkey, Circa 1700-1750. A Beautifully Produced Painting after a Southern Song Dynasty Composition
Author: After Zhang Sigong; Stated Attribution to Zhao Mengfu; After Kano Tan’yu; Likely Kano School Artist
Condition: Very Good
An Early to Mid Edo Period, 18th century painting, being a copy of a Southern Song Dynasty Painting of the Planetary Deity Chenxing, attended by a very surly monkey holding an inkwell for her.
The painting has been beautifully produced, with much of the deity’s appearance and vestments enhanced and highlighted in golden ink, and the painting faithfully copying the original quite nicely.
The original painting appears to be a 13th century example attributed to Zhang Sigong, now held in the MFA Boston. This example, while being a close copy, seems to be somewhat more identical to a later, Early Edo copy produced by Kano Tan’yu, and sold at the November 7th, 2013 Japanese Art Sale at Bonhams, being lot 334. I would presume another Kano School artist likely produced their copy based upon the Tan’yu example.
The painting also bears a signature for that of the famed Yuan Dynasty artist Zhao Mengfu, but this is improbable, as it is not in his style, nor of the period. There are several collector seals as well.
It should be noted that while the practice of adding signatures of early Chinese artists is more commonly seen with later Chinese produced copies, it isn’t inherently out of the question for a Japanese painter to have added the artist signature of Zhao Mengfu to this painting. The heavy usage of golden ink is also something which would be much more typical of a Japanese artist, and less a Chinese artist.
The painting has been neatly mounted onto a brocade decorated kakejiku (hanging scroll), with jikusaki (knobs) made of lacquered wood.
One painting mounted on a kakejiku (hanging scroll), 220 x 73 cm full size, 116 x 59 cm main painting
This painting is in very good shape, with minor creasing. There are very light levels of cracking to the painting, but no notable loss.