Hongli (Emperor Qianlong) 1711-1799


Calligraphy in running scriptWritten in bold strokes with velvety ink on silk with the auspicious characters 'Fu' and 'Shou' meaning 'Good Fortune' and 'Longevity' respectively, with Yu Bi seal. 111cm (43 7/8in) wide x 63.7cm (25in) long.
|愛新覺羅·弘曆（公元1711-1799年） 御筆「福壽」書法 鈐印： 乾隆御筆Provenance: Heinz Dietel (1911–1975), Erfurt, until 1975The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) state-owned art-trade organisation, Staatlicher Kunsthandel, Erfurt, 1976 –1977Museum für Völkerkunde, Dresden, 1977 – 2018The heir of Heinz Dietel, restituted by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden in 2018來源： 1975年前為德國艾爾福特Heinz Dietel先生(1911–1975)收藏1976至1977年期間為德意志民主共和國（東德）國有藝術商店所有1977至2018年期間為德國德累斯頓人類學博物館收藏2018年由德累斯頓國家藝術收藏館償還予Heinz Dietel先生之家族後人 Heinz Dietel, an avid collector with a passion for East Asian art, was pursued by the East German regime and its secret police (known as STASI) in order to transfer his collection to state possession. After his death in November 1975, the present Imperial calligraphy, amongst other works of art, was acquired by the state-owned art trade organisation (Staatlicher Kunsthandel, Erfurt) following a tax proceeding against his estate and subsequent liquidation. From there it was acquired by the Museum für Völkerkunde, Dresden in January 1977 where it has been until recently, when following amicable settlement, the calligraphy was returned to the heir of Heinz Dietel by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden.Compare with a similar pair of calligraphies by the Qianlong emperor, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 October 2015, lot 1137.