Two Chinese ink rubbings, 20th century
Two works

Saddled horse in full gallop from a relief at the tomb of Tang Taizong
Ink rubbing on three joined sheets of rice paper
With a Chinese red ink stamp in the lower left corner; a linen hinge, verso, inscribed in pencil: Ching Ch'ui
Image/Sheet: 55" H x 80" W

Robed men in a landscape with stylized animals
Ink rubbing on beige rice paper
Unsigned
Image/Sheet: 27" H x 53" W

Provenance: The Collection of Walter and Nesta Spink, Ann Arbor, MI, by 2000

Other Notes: According to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, where another example of the same galloping horse is part of their permanent collection (1991/2.29.4), this rubbing was made from a replica of one of the original stone reliefs at the tomb of the
renowned Emperor Taizong of Tang (reigned 626-649) in Shaanxi, China. Replicas are sometimes substituted at historically important sites for long-term preservation of the originals, or when they have been either lost, sold, or taken over the centuries. "To make these rubbings, damp paper was laid onto the stone surface. A small brush or cotton cloth was used to press the
paper into the depressions in the stone. After ink was brushed or pounded onto the paper, the areas pressed into the stone were left white, so that the original design stood out against a black background. The technique was commonly used by scholars in China to record historic images and calligraphy carved in stone."

Each of the works with regular horizontal and vertical creases from the original folding process, and with occasional scattered short splits or rice-sized holes at some of the intersections, attendant with the folding of such thin paper. The large, galloping horse overall in good condition aside from some scattered and mostly unobtrusive pale stains, roughly 1" diameter (or less), and three pea-sized holes in the background near the left edge. Two rectangles of pale surface soiling, verso, from storage in the folded configuration. The second artwork with a 0.5" H x 1" W triangular paper loss near the left edge, within the upper geometric border. This sheet also with an irregular, quarter-sized brown stain in the upper margin, at left. Time staining along the fold lines, verso. Each sheet is loose, not matted.

Each unframed Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.