‘GUAN YU READING THE SPRING AND AUTUMN ANNALS’, MING DYNASTY China, 1368-1644. Ink and watercolors on paper. Signed upper left. Two seals. The famous general seated on an elaborately carved chair and wearing a long coat over a dragon robe as he reads from the Spring and Autumn annals. With a silk brocade frame and mounted as a hanging scroll.

Provenance: Sigurd Reininghaus (1933-1981). From the collection of Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Gudrun Thaler-Szulyovsky, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. The couple, who had both been practicing law, met in 1967 through their mutual passion for art. Together they built a substantial and diverse art collection over many decades. The present lot was one of their first works of Asian art, received as payment for legal services, from the prominent Styrian brewer Sigurd Reininghaus.
Condition: Extensive wear, creases, small losses, minor tears, soiling, staining.

Dimensions: Size incl. mounting 128 x 42 cm, Image size 55 x 31.5 cm

The present lot depicts the military hero and God of War Guan Yu (died 219), who became glorified in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, attributed to Luo Guanzhong. The subject represents an episode from Guan Yu's life when he memorized in only a few nights the Confucian Classics of The Spring and Autumn Annals and The Commentary of Zuo. His feat of memory made him an admirable model for the literati and, as well as becoming a God of War in 1615 with state backing, he also became a God of Literature.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a considerably larger hanging scroll by Ding Yunpeng of the same subject and from roughly the same period, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy on 25 November 2019, lot 966, sold for HKD 2,500,000.

明代《關羽夜讀春秋》
中國，1368-1644年。紙本設色，挂軸。左側上端落款，兩枚鈴印。著名的大將關羽坐在椅子上，著長袍，挑燈夜讀《春秋》。

來源：Sigurd Reininghaus (1933-1981)。Ferdinand Thaler-Szulyovsky博士與Gudrun Thaler-Szulyovsky博士收藏，自此在同一個家庭世代相傳。這對夫妻一直從事法律工作，1967年因爲對藝術的共同熱情而相識。 數十年來，他們共同建立了豐富且龐大的藝術收藏。
圖片：Ferdinand 與 Gudrun Thaler-Szulyovszky
品相：廣泛磨損，摺痕，小缺損失，輕微的水漬，污跡。

尺寸：縂128 x 42 厘米, 畫面55 x 31.5 厘米

拍賣結果：一幅大型丁雲鵬《關於夜讀春秋》挂軸見香港佳士得Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy 拍場2019年11月25日lot 966, 售價HKD 2,500,000.