This is a very interesting painting of a pair beautifully painted birds, sitting in a flowering magnolia tree with Asiatic white lily flowers blossoming underneath. It is attributed to the Chinese painter Shen Quan (c. 1682-1760), who traveled to Japan and took the artist name of Nanpin. This painting is unusually painted on squares of Japanese paper. Shen was known to be experimental in his art work creations and even painted on Japanese screens*, known in Japan as byobu. *See Sale number 42 Lot 71, an 8-panel Japanese screen attributed to Shen Quan and sold in London in 2018 by Bertolami Fine Art.

This painting was accepted by Bonhams NY to be included in an upcoming online sale, but the owner has asked that it be offered now.

According to the Wikipedia, Shen was born in Deqing in Zhejiang province. He specialized in bird-and-flower painting and was influenced by Bian Jingzhao and Lu Ji. His works were painted in a very realistic style, and he had many students and patrons. Shen was invited to Japan by a high official. He arrived in Nagasaki in the final month of 1731 with two students, acquiring many Japanese students after his arrival. His paintings soon became very popular, and after his 1733 return to China he continued to send paintings back to Japan.

Painting, ink and light colors on Japanese paper canvas, beautifully mounted in old green silk and gold silk brocades.
Size of painting: approx. 52 in. H x 18 3/4 in. W
Size of mounting: approx. 79 in. H x 26 1/2 in. W

Seals: Four seals, two artist seals inside and two collector seals on the outside of the scroll.

Provenance:
An American family estate collection (circa 1960s)
A Japanese family estate collection (circa 1920s-1930s)

Provenance with the names of the two families will be provided to the winner.

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Thank you all and good luck in your bidding!

Very good antique condition with minor toning, wrinkles, creases, minor old stains, etc. (See pics)