PROPERTY FROM A DESCENDANT OF A DISTINGUISHED SOUTHEAST ASIAN COLLECTOR (Lots 1181-1190)

XU BEIHONG (1895-1953)

Galloping Horse

Details

XU BEIHONG (1895-1953)
Galloping Horse
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink on paper
111.5 x 108.5 cm. (43 7/8 x 42 3/4 in.)
Signed, with one seal of the artist
One collector’s seal of Huang Manshi (1890-1963)

Further Details

Renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist Chen Jiandun was born in the early 20th century and moved from China to Singapore in his youth. While in Singapore, he developed a successful career and founded a business empire in property development, shipping and cement manufacturing in Singapore and Hong Kong. Mr Chen was known for his generosity and philanthropic activities towards his hometown in China, making frequent visits and donations for infrastructure building from the 1950s.
As a keen photographer, Mr Chen became friends with many Singaporean artists in the Chinese and Western traditions who opened his eyes to Chinese paintings. With a passion for Chinese art, Mr Chen assembled an impressive collection of Chinese ink paintings throughout his life, with a particular interest in Xu Beihong, a love shared by many of his fellow Southeast Asian collectors. During his visits to China in the 1970s, he met many Beijing artists, such as Huang Zhou, Li Kuchan and Wang Xuetao, from whom he acquired these paintings. Seven works from this collection will be offered in the Exquisite Eye: Chinese Paintings Online on 23 November – 7 December 2022.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Carmen Shek Cerne (石嘉雯) Vice President, Head of Department, Chinese Paintings

cshek@christies.com +852 2978 9981

Lot Essay

The collector’s seal belongs to Huang Manshi (1890-1963). He and his elder brother, Huang Menggui (1885-1965), were two influential people in Xu Beihong’s life in Southeast Asia. As General Manager of Nanyang Brothers Tobacco, Huang Manshi invited Xu Beihong to Singapore and introduced him to many influential Chinese tycoons in Southeast Asia, where many of his important works were born. Xu saw the Huang brothers as “the most intimate friends in life”, calling them “big brother” and “second brother” respectively. After the brothers’ deaths, their collection was passed to family as well as to several prominent collectors in Southeast Asia.

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