‘MAPLE TREE AND BIRD’, BY XIE ZHILIU (1910-1997) China. Ink and watercolors on paper. Finely painted with a white-crested long-tailed bird perched on a gnarled maple branch bearing red, worm-eaten leaves and dense buds, the bird’s head turned to one side. With a silk brocade frame and mounted as a hanging scroll.

Inscriptions: Upper right, signed ‘Xie Zhiliu’ and dated April of the Guiwei year (corresponding to 1943), with two seals, ‘Xie zhi’ and ‘Zhiliu’.

Provenance: From an English private collection.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, soiling, foxing, and creasing, the watercolors lightly smudged in some areas.

Dimensions: Image size 64 x 35 cm, Size incl. mounting 203 x 48.5 cm

Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997) was a leading traditional painter, calligrapher, and art connoisseur of modern China. He was a noted member of the Shanghai School. Xie and his wife Chen Peiqiu are one of the most famous couples in Chinese art. Xie began learning to paint at the age of nine, and received an education according to the Chinese artistic tradition, which is a combination of drawing directly from life and copying the paintings of old masters. At the age of 19, he began to emulate the style of Ming dynasty master Chen Hongshou. In the 1930s, Xie Zhiliu befriended the famous painter Zhang Daqian. In 1942 Xie went to Dunhuang with Zhang to study the art of the Mogao Caves. After returning he published several books including ‘Records of Dunhuang Art’ and ‘Compilation of Dunhuang Cave Art’. In 1943, Xie was hired as an art professor by the National Central University (now Nanjing University), then exiled in Chongqing during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He held personal exhibitions in many Chinese cities including Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming, Xi'an, and Shanghai. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he worked on cultural relic preservation, and served as a consultant for the Shanghai Museum.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related painting by Xie Zhiliu at Bonhams Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Paintings on 1 June 2021, lot 850, sold for HKD 114,750.

謝稚柳（1910-1997）《翠羽清秋圖》
中國。紙本設色立軸。黑嘴白頭翁倚立於枝頭，神色靈動而又機警，貼近自然。秋葉的凋零，盡顯簡約之美。

款識：翠羽釵梁欹鬢橫，粉痕凝夜動幽情。鏡台銀帶都無色，試上瓊樓有月明。癸未四月為挺秋先生法家雅教，謝稚柳稚榆林窟下。
鈴印：謝稚，稚柳

來源：英國私人收藏。
品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損、汙漬和摺痕。

尺寸：畫面64 x 35 厘米，總203 x 48.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件謝稚柳畫作，見香港邦翰思Fine Chinese Paintings 2021年6月1日 lot 850, 售價HKD 114,750。