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Dear All,

Could you help me to identify the Chinese Caligraph from this painting. Thank you

Chandra

Chandra, your Chinese painting of long-tailed birds amidst peonies is signed (third photo) by an artist named Chen. The given name possibly is Tefang, which means "special fragrance" (I'm less certain of "Te" than the other elements of the name). If I'm correct, it sounds a bit like it may be a feminine name. I did a cursory Google search with no clear results, but you may wish to research the name further on your own. The bold calligraphy (first and second photos) is the traditional Chinese blessing of "Fu Gui Chang Chun" (Riches, Honor and Eternal Youth). The vertical line to the right of the signature begins with what looks to be a cyclical date of Yi Chou, which most recently came around in 2005 and beforehand at 60-year intervals. Looking at the surface of the painting, it seems to show enough signs of age to be from the 1945 or perhaps even 1885 cycle of Yi Chou. There may be other clues in the rest of the inscription, which I defer to a real expert to translate. Good Luck, Bill H

Thank you Bill for your information, It's very helpful. FYI, at the first, I took the picture still in plastic wrapped, so it looks yellow and bit bluer. But recently I open the plastic wrap and surprising me is still clean and bright. Based on your explanation, it may came from 1945 since my father got this picture in Singapore around 70's.

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