Press Kit Treasures through Six Generations: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Weng Collection Major Exhibition to Feature Esteemed Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy
April 11–July 13, 2009
Boone Gallery
Assembled primarily during the 19th century, the Weng Collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy has survived more than a century of dynastic changes and warfare to remain unscathed in the care of one family. Weng Tonghe (1830–1904), who formed the collection, was a preeminent figure in China, holding some of the highest positions at the imperial court. His collection was passed down through six generations, finally coming to his great great grandson Wango H. C. Weng. “Treasures through Six Generations” presents 42 masterworks of Chinese painting and calligraphy created over a period of 900 years. Among them is a hand scroll by the Southern Song artist Liang Kai (13th century), the only known example of his courtly style. Also on view will be the monumental hand scroll painting Ten Thousand Li up the Yangzi River by Wang Hui (1632–1717), in which the artist traces China’s greatest river in more than 50 feet of imaginatively layered brushwork. The exhibition originally was organized by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts as “Through Six Generations: The Weng Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy” in 2007. Wango H. C. Weng is an academic adviser to The Huntington’s Chinese garden, Liu Fang Yuan, or Garden of Flowing Fragrance. A fully illustrated catalog will accompany the exhibition.
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Captions
| | Tang Song
| Tang Song, 1829–1858, China, Qing dynasty, Album of Flowers and Calligraphy, ca. 1855. Album, ink and color on paper, 8 1/2 x 9 3/5 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Summer Mountains
| Wang Jian, 1598–1677, China, late Ming and early Qing dynasty, Summer Mountains after Dong Yuan, dated 1642.Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 67 x 35 3/5 inches.Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection. | Daoist Scripture
| Liang Kai, active early 13th century, China, Southern Song period, Frontispiece to a Daoist Scripture, ca. 1201-1204. Handscroll, ink on paper, 101/5 x 29 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Spring Mist
| Wang Yuanqi, 1642–1715, China, Qing dynasty, Western Mountains in Spring Mist (detail), dated 1701. Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 102/5 x 2083/10 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Excursion
| Shen Zhou, 1427–1509, China, Ming dynasty, Xie An’s Excursion on the Eastern Mountain, dated 1480. Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk, 66 9/10 x 35 inches.Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection. | Early Masters
| Zhu Da, 1628–1705, China, Qing dynasty, Calligraphy in the Styles of Early Masters, dated 1702. Album, ink on paper, 9 1/5 x 6 2/5 inches (per page). Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection. | Elegant Gathering
| Wan-go H.C.Weng, born 1918, Elegant Gathering at the Laixi Residence (detail), 1986–1990.Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 11 7/10 x 36 4/5 inches (1st section), 11 7/10 x 35 3/10 inches (2nd section), 11 7/10 x 36 3/5 inches (3rd section). Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Weng Tonghe
| Photo of Weng Tonghe, ca. 1895-98. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Tiger
| Weng Tonghe, 1830–1904,China, Qing dynasty, Calligraphy of the Character Hu (Tiger), dated 1890. Hanging scroll, ink on paper, 51 3/5 x 24 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Wang-go Weng, age 4
| Photo of Wan-go Weng, age 4 | Landscape Poem
| Xiang Yuanbian, 1525-1590, China, Ming dynasty, Landscape after a Poem by Ji Kang, undated. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, 40 7/10 x 19 1/5 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Landscape Album
| Yun Shouping, 1633–1690, China, Qing dynasty, Landscape Album with Calligraphy, dated 1665. Album, ink on paper, 9 x 12 2/5 inches. (double pages) Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Ten Thousand Li
| Wang Hui, 1632–1717, China,Qing dynasty, Ten Thousand Li up the Yangzi River (detail), dated 1699. Handscroll, ink and color on paper, 15 4/5 x 635 4/5 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
| Three Hermits
| Chen Hongshou, 1598–1652, China, Qing dynasty, The Three Hermits: Plum, Chrysanthemum, and Narcissus, dated 1651. Handscroll, ink and color on silk, 9 x 53 9/10 inches. Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection.
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