ANONYMOUS (QING DYNASTY)

ANONYMOUS (QING DYNASTY)
A LEOPARD AND A PAIR OF MAGPIES

A large Chinese painting, ink and colour on silk, depicting a spotted leopard amidst millet and foliage looking up towards a pair of magpies in flight, framed and glazed, 213cm high, 114cm wide.

Provenance: from the collection of Adolphe Stoclet, 1871-1949.

In Chinese art, the leopard bao, and magpie xique, form a homophone which indicates an announcement of good tidings. One can find this iconography in Korean art, but the meaning is different because the spotted leopard in Korea is recognised as a tiger.

佚名（清） 報喜圖

設色絹本 鏡框

來源：Adolphe Stoclet (斯托克萊1871-1949）收藏。