Chinanews client, Beijing, October 19 (Reporter Song Yusheng) The much-watched "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" was sold for RMB 512.9 million in Beijing on the evening of the 18th, setting a record for auction transactions of ancient Chinese art and becoming this year The most expensive Chinese artwork in the world.

  Why can this work be sold at sky-high prices?

What is the story behind the painting?

"Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Volume" courtesy of the auction house

What did you paint?

  That night, the special auction for the 15th anniversary celebration of Poly Auction "Wu Bin's "Paintings and Stones of the Ten-faced Lingbi" and Shimenian Lingbi Mountain House Collection" was held in Beijing.

  "The Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" was auctioned at a consultative price. The initial bid on site was 100 million yuan, and then buyers directly bid to 200 million. Since then, new buyers continue to join in. The bidding price reaches 300 million after a few minutes. After many minutes of bidding, the hammer was finally dropped at 446 million yuan, and the final transaction price was 512.9 million yuan with 15% commission.

The auction site of "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll".

Photo by Song Yusheng from China News Service

  This work that has attracted the attention of many collectors is an ancient painting of the Ming Dynasty.

  According to the auction house's information, "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" was written by the Ming court painter Wu Bin and was painted in about 1610 AD.

The author is considered to be one of the main advocates and leaders of the "Deformationist Painting Style" and "Revival of the Classical Landscape Painting Style of the Northern Song Dynasty" in the late Ming Dynasty.

  The painting center is 55.5 cm high and 11.5 meters long, the first one is 26 cm high and 1.125 meters long, the second one is 47.5 cm high and 1.43 meters long, and the title post is 55.5 cm high and 11.32 meters long.

  The content of the "Shimen Lingbi Picture Scroll" is actually very simple. It is a rare stone in the collection of Mi Wanzhong, the "Shiyin'an layman" of the Ming Dynasty, but the painting method is rare in ancient and modern—Wu Bin presented ten paintings from ten angles This strange stone.

  At the same time, the paintings have both form and spirit. In addition to traditional Chinese painting pen and ink, they also refer to geometric principles, rhythm and five elements, which are quite rare in the history of ancient Chinese painting.

"Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" in the auction preview.

Photo courtesy of exhibitor

Where does the painting come from?

  Not only is the painting method peculiar, but there is also a story about the origin of this painting.

  Mi Wanzhong, who collected this strange stone, was a master of calligraphy and painting in the Ming Dynasty, but he is best known for the construction of the famous spoon garden in Haidian, Beijing.

  The reason why it is called a scoop garden means "a scoop of Haidian".

Today’s scholars have verified that the Shao Garden at that time covered an area of ​​about 100 acres, with a full view of the water, set off by the long embankment, the secluded pavilion, and the Hongqiao. It has the charm of a water village in the south of the Yangtze River. It was one of the most famous private gardens in Beijing at the end of Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Shao Yuan was destroyed in the wars of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

  In the Qing Dynasty, a building was rebuilt in the old Shaoyuan area.

Since Qianlong, it has become a place for officials to rest on their way to the Old Summer Palace. The British special envoy Macartney was also stationed here when he met the Qing emperor.

Today, the former site of Shaoyuan has become a part of Peking University.

The front face of the strange stone drawn in "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll".

Photo courtesy of the auction house

  Mi Wanzhong, the former owner of Shaoyuan, is known as a "good stone" and spent a lot of energy collecting strange stones throughout his life.

  In the Wanli Wushen year, when he took office in Liuhe County, Nanjing, he received a Lingbi stone. This stone has a magnificent shape, a magnificent face, and the beauty of the five elements. It has three mountains and five mountains.

Mi Wanzhong was overjoyed, and Naiyan invited his friend painter Wu Bin to make stone statues, which is the origin of the creation of this volume.

  After the painting was completed, Mi Wanzhong still traveled thousands of miles away, and invited the then painting leaders Dong Qichang, Chen Jiru, Li Weizhen, and Zhishi's former cabinet chief Fu Ye Xianggao to write a postscript for this painting.

Sky-high price

  After entering the Qing Dynasty, the "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" was kept secret for a hundred years. After the scroll, the Manchu nobleman Sa Ying'a wrote an inscription showing that the work was once given to his son-in-law, the governor of Shandong Aishan.

After this picture, travel across the ocean.

  In December 1989, the "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Book" was sold for the first time at Sotheby's in New York. It was sold at a sky-high price of US$1.21 million. Transaction record of ten thousand dollars.

The left front of the strange stone drawn in the "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll".

Photo courtesy of the auction house

  Thirty-one years later, on the evening of October 18, 2020, this work once again appeared on the auction market, and once again set a new record-"Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" refreshed the auction sale of ancient Chinese art with a transaction price of 512.9 million yuan Record, becoming the most expensive Chinese artwork in the world this year.

  In an interview with reporters, Fan Changjiang, general manager of the ancient painting and calligraphy department of Beijing Poly Auctions, said frankly that the uniqueness, creativity, and artistic value and ideological value of this work of art are in line with this price point.

"If it shows up again in the future, maybe it will set a new record."

  He also said that judging from the auction situation of the entire special auction on the evening of the 18th, the market still has a strong desire to buy artworks, and the high-priced transaction of "The Ten-faced Lingbi Picture Scroll" will also have an impact on the Chinese ancient art auction market. Boost.

(Finish)

  Reference materials: "A Preliminary Study of Wu Bin and Mi Wanzhong's "Spoon Garden"—Also on the Communication between Wu Bin and Mi Wanzhong" "Wu Bin's "Ten-faced Lingbi Picture" and Mi Wanzhong's Feifei Stone Research"