Chinese Eagle Painting by Anonymous After Wen Tong (17th Century)

A fine Chinese painting of an eagle, hanging scroll, early 17th century, Anonymous, after Wen Tong (1019-1079), framed, the eagle is perched standing alone on a mountain peak, the calligraphy to the upper right, translation, 'Painted by Wen Tong, an eagle stands alone'. The monochrome ink palette, suggestive of symbolising the integrity of a principled Confucian scholar, the painting measuring 160 cm x 103 cm. Provenance: Ex collection of Connoisseur and Collector, the British Heiress lady Ann Juliet Dorothea Maud Tadgell, formerly lady Juliet de chair, Somerset, purchased from Michael Leach gallery, London, 1986. Other Notes: the eagle in Chinese Art represents boldness and the character 'Ying' is homophonous with the word for hero. The popular depiction in painting of an eagle standing alone, is a rebus for 'Yingxiong duli', meaning 'A hero who stands alone is peerless'. It alludes to a poem from the Yuan dynasty referring to the scholar-officials who were not willing to bow to foreign rulers, even at the cost of their political advancement.