Oversized Masterpiece Scrolls in the Museum Collection 2026-I

Anonymous, Northern Wei dynasty

It is unclear when the scribe who wrote this work lived, but according to a colophon written by Zeng Xi mounted at the end of the scroll (1861-1930), the calligrapher lived during the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). This piece was formerly collected by Xiang Shen (1864-1928), who emblazoned the work with one seal bearing his name and another that reads, “From the Art Collection of Baoshu’s Hut.” The entire work comprises over 6,600 characters, written with such consistency that they deviate neither in spirit nor style from beginning to end. The brushwork and character structures both correspond with calligraphy found engraved upon steles. 

Xiang Shen, a native of Hengshan county in Hunan province, had the style name Legu and the sobriquet Baoshuzi (“Master Baoshu”). Xiang was an intimate friend as well as relative of Zeng Xi; in his later years, he sustained himself by selling calligraphy in Shanghai. This work was donated to the NPM by Madam Hsiang Li-lan.

Ma Yuan, Song dynasty
Silk

This painting’s subject matter comes from a line in a poem written by “the Immortal of Poetry,” Li Bai (701-762), which reads, “I raise my cup in invitation to the bright moon.” This work depicts a scholar drinking alone in a misty, moonlit landscape. The artist used thick ink washes and large “axe cut” texturing strokes to portray the painting’s rock forms. The unrestrained brushwork carries elements of both Ma Yuan (fl. 1190-1222) and Xia Gui’s (fl. 1180-ca 1230) painting styles. An old inscription on this work attributes it to Ma Yuan, but seals reading “Qin Li” and “Zhong Qinli” on the painting’s lower right portion indicate that it was the work of the famous Ming dynasty Zhe school painter Zhong Li (fl. late 15th century).

Zhong Li, whose style name was Qinli, was from Shangyu in Zhejiang province. He learned painting from Zai Jin (1388-1462) and excelled at portraying the transformations of clouds and mists undulating between mountain peaks. 

Wu Zhen, Yuan dynasty
Silk

Wu Zhen (1280-1354) had the style name Zhonggui and the style name Meihua Daoren (“Plum Blossom Taoist”); he hailed from Jiaxing in Zhejiang province. Wu is listed alongside Huang Gongwang (1269-1354), Wang Meng (1308-1385), and Ni Zan (1301-1374) as one of the four masters of Yuan dynasty painting.

Heavy, forceful “hemp fiber” texturing brushstrokes were used to paint the mountains and rock forms in this work, but dynamism and liveliness are brought to them by the play of ink in the “moss spots” painted on their summits. A waterfall plummets downwards, following the sheer drop from the vertigo-inducing escarpments, while mountains in the distance rise from behind an expansive, placid lake. A pair of pines stands tall in the foreground, adding to the painting’s rich sense of spatial layering, whilst buildings and small dwellings dot the landscape. Reeds can be seen growing in the shallows along the lakeshore, and a small fishing boat bobs along in the waves. The figure of a relaxed, carefree fisherman was a trope in which Yuan dynasty literati often invested their deepest sentiments.