QIU; YING
~1494-1552 - attributed

China. Probably Ming Dynasty; Jiajing period (1522-66). Cyclically dated to the 16th of July; 1540. Ink and colors on silk. 64.5 x 27.5cm.
The meeting between Pei Gong (Liu Bang); the first emperor of the Han dynasty and his consultant; Li Shiqi is depicted in fine details. The meeting takes place at the end of the Qin dynasty. Liu Bang sits in front of a tripartite screen and gets his feet washed by female servants. His visitor; a man of more that sixty years old and wearing a sword is greeting him. He will give him the advice how to defeat the Qin. Sign: Qiu Ying Shi Fu. Seal: Qiu Shifu & Shizhou. Framed with glass. Condition A/B. Lighter stains and restored.

Above the scene an inscription of twelve lines from Wen Zhengming (1470-1559); quoting a paragraph of Volume Eight from the Chinese history compendium 'Zizhi Tongjian' (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance). Sign.: Wen Zhengming and seal: Zhengming.

Art trade; Van Ham.