Artist: Unknown

Date: Southern Song (1127-1279)

Dimensions: Height 12.1 cm, Width 26.1 cm

Material: Ink and color on silk

• Object Type：
  • PAINTINGS
• Location：
  • The Painting and Calligraphy of Shanghai Gallery
• Tag：
  • cherry oriole album leaf southern song ink and color silk

The painting bears no signature. The inscriptions and seals on the work suggest that it is a gift from Empress Yang of the Southern Song to her elder brother Yang Cishan in the sixth year (1213) of Emperor Ningzong's reign. It depicts red berries on branches and orioles singing, exhibiting an elegant and refined style. The painting was possibly painted by a Southern Song court painter. In the spring of 1949, Wu Hufan acquired it for rare books from his family collection. Wu Hufan (1894-1968) was a central figure of the classical Chinese painting and calligraphy connoisseurship in the 20^th century. Integrating connoisseurship, artistic creation, and scholarly research, he was not only the "leading master of the painting world" who guided artistic trends in Jiangnan after Wu Changshuo, but also a founder of the modern Chinese painting and calligraphy authentication discipline.