Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

A catalogue of the Ashmolean collection of Chinese paintings by Shelagh Vainker (published Oxford, 2000).

Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford by Shelagh Vainker

Publications online: 222 objects

Reference URL

Actions

Send e-mail

Contact us about this object

Send e-mail

Send to a friend

River landscape

  • Literature notes

    Zha Shibiao was from Haiyang near Xiuying in Anhui province and is associated with the Anhui School, renowned for dry brushwork and sparse composition. Zha Shibiao studied for the civil service examinations before the fall of the Ming dynasty, and it has been suggested that his subsequent departure from official life in favour of painting may have been prompted by lack of sympathy for the new rule. His family owned collections of paintings and bronzes and he himself was a connoisseur. In painting he followed his near contemporary Hong Ren and the Yuan master Ni Zan. From the 1670s onwards he lived in Yangzhou.
  • Description

    Zha Shibiao, also known as Meihe or Erzhan, was from Xin’an in Anhui province. He is regarded as one of the four masters of the Xin’an School, and is renowned for his dry brushwork and sparse composition. The artist studied for the civil service examinations before the fall of the Ming dynasty, and it has been suggested that his subsequent departure from official life in favour of painting may have been prompted by lack of sympathy for the new rule.

    From the 1670s onwards Zha Shibiao lived in Yangzhou. His family owned collections of paintings and bronzes, and he himself was a connoisseur. In painting he followed his contemporary Hong Ren (1610-1664) and master from the Yuan dynasty, Ni Zan (1301-1374). According to the inscription, this particular painting is after Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), also known as Hengshan xiansheng, and was painted during a trip to Yangzhou in 1666.

  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChinaJiangsu province Yangzhou (place of creation)
    Date
    1666
    Artist/maker
    Zha Shibiao (1615 - 1698) (artist)
    style of Wen Zhengming (1470 - 1559) (artist)
    Material and technique
    ink on paper
    Dimensions
    17.2 x 18.3 cm approx. (height x width)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased with the assistance of the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, theArt Fund, and Friends of the Ashmolean Museum, 1980.
    Accession no.
    EA1980.141
  • Further reading

    Vainker, Shelagh, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000), no. 158 on p. 182, illus. p. 183 fig. 158

Past Exhibition

see (1)

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford by Shelagh Vainker

    Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

    Zha Shibiao was from Haiyang near Xiuying in Anhui province and is associated with the Anhui School, renowned for dry brushwork and sparse composition. Zha Shibiao studied for the civil service examinations before the fall of the Ming dynasty, and it has been suggested that his subsequent departure from official life in favour of painting may have been prompted by lack of sympathy for the new rule. His family owned collections of paintings and bronzes and he himself was a connoisseur. In painting he followed his near contemporary Hong Ren and the Yuan master Ni Zan. From the 1670s onwards he lived in Yangzhou.
Notice

Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum