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Subject:Re: Very Large Antique Painting - Signature & Seals???
Posted By: Bill H Sun, Jun 29, 2014
I'll treat the painting as Chinese, although its imagery also is well rooted in Japanese and Korean art and literature.
It should be noted at the outset that while it is respectably done, there is nothing particularly unique about this painting. It is the kind of wall art that was mass-produced for popular consumption, including by tourists and others who visited Asia during the late 20th century. Vietnam-era military personnel on leave in places like Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok were prime customers.
The four-character title of the picture near its upper left corner may be rendered in Mandarin pinyin as "Song Shen He Xing" (松身鶴性), literally "The lifetime of a pine, and the spirit of a crane". Since the evergreen pine symbolizes eternal youth, and the Manchurian crane is the tireless conveyance of Daoist Longevity God Shoulao, the title seems to express a blessing appropriate for all who have attained or aspire to reach old age.
The red seal next to the title reads down in Mandarin as "Song He Shan" (松鶴山), literally "Pine and Crane Mountain", though possibly a name, with "Song" being the surname. I found a reference to "Song He Shan" with reference a Qing dynasty collection of Chinese poetry, which avenue would require your further research to determine its pertinence to this painting.
In the lower right corner, the Bold black characters and red seal both read as "Dong Quan" (東泉), literally "Eastern Fountainhead", but here likely a name, with "Dong" being the Chinese surname and the two characters together forming the Japanese surname "Tousen" or the Japanese place name "Higashizumi".
FYI, Chinese characters are at the roots of written Japanese and Korean, but the pronunciation can be vastly different in the latter two languages and across the hundreds of Chinese dialects as well. If you want to learn to read, you might inquire of major universities near where you live, as some of them may have courses, possibly including online classes.
Best regards,
Bill H.
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