Sotheby's to offer calligraphy by Su Shi

On 19th September 2013 Sotheby’s will present a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire a work by one of the towering figures of early Chinese history when The Gong Fu Tie Calligraphy by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi (1037-1101) is offered in the Fine Classical Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy auction. Su Shi is known as an author, politician, calligrapher, gastronome, pharmacologist as well as an artist. His position in Chinese culture is comparable to that of the European Renaissance masters such as Leonardo da Vinci. His writings and teachings have been hugely influential, his poem «Ode to the Red Cliff» is considered to be one of the most magisterial texts in Chinese literature. The appearance of a piece by Su Shi at auction is a practically unheard of event; of the approximately fifty known pieces by the artist, almost all are in private hands. The current lot is estimated to fetch in excess of $300,000.

Although just nine characters long The Gong Fu Tie Calligraphy has resonated with scholars for centuries who have recognized its technical sophistication as well as the Su Shi’s humanism it so beautifully embodies. The piece has been recorded in many of the most authoritative books on Chinese art and been lavished with praise, with the well-known author Weng Fanggang describing it as «a divine piece of calligraphy.» This work was completed mid-way through the artist’s career in his mature period and is a goodbye letter to Su Shi’s fellow artist Guo Gufu (1035-1113) a close friend despite differing political views.

Sotheby's to offer calligraphy by Su Shi

Source: www.artdaily.org