‘DAMO’, BY MIN ZHEN (1730-1788)China. Ink and watercolors on paper. Finely painted with Damo (Bodhidharma) dressed in a red robe above a white underdress, standing on a reed over waves with his legs crossed and his head tilted to the side, the eyes looking away in a pensive expression. An homage to the legend of the Zen patriarch sailing up the Yangzi River on just a single reed.Inscriptions: Upper left, signed ‘Min Zhen’, two seals, ‘Min Zhen’ and ‘Zhengzhai’.Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom.Condition: Some soiling, creasing with associated minor losses, further small losses, some with minor touch, and minor tears. The brocade frame with minor creasing and few stains.Dimensions: Image size 42.1 x 21.3 cm, Size incl. mounting 189.5 x 35.8 cmWith a silk brocade frame and mounted as a hanging scroll with handles possibly of zitan wood.Min Zhen (1730-1788) was a Chinese painter and seal carver born in Nanchang, Jiangxi, who spent most of his life in Hubei. He was noted for painting human figures and doing occasional finger painting. He was orphaned at an early age and is sometimes associated with the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. See Shelagh Vainker, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum Oxford, 2000, p. 118-121.Literatureparison:Compare a related painting by Min Zhen, depicting a scholar, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, accession number EA1964.233.i.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Poly International, Beijing, 5 December 2020, lot 1310Price: CNY 138,000 or approx.EUR 19,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: Zhongkui, Min Zhen (1730-1788)Expert remark: Note the size (158 x 86 cm)閔貞 (1730-1788)款《達摩像》中國，紙本水墨設色，掛軸。達摩身著紅袍，立於蘆葦上，頭偏向一邊，雙眼若有所思。線條流暢灑脫。款識：閔貞畫；鈴印：閔貞，正齋