'CRANES', SCHOOL OF SHEN QUAN (1682-1760)Ink and watercolors on silk. Superbly painted with two cranes, one drinking water from a stream and the other standing on a thick gnarled branch with pine, bamboo, and various flowers. With a silk brocade frame and mounted as a hanging scroll. Two zitan handles, most likely from the period.Inscriptions: Center left, signed 'Shen Quan', 'Wuxing' (the artist's place of origin). Two artist seals, 'Shen Quan' and 'Nanping' (the artist's courtesy name)Provenance: From the collection of Alexander Popov in Novi Sad, Kingdom of Serbia, acquired between 1900-1920.Condition: Creases, minor soiling, some water stains, very small losses with associated touchups, overall in very good condition.Dimensions: Size incl. mounting 250 x 92 cm, Image size 167 x 84 cmShen Quan was active during the Qing dynasty and painted in the Ming academic style. Shen was very influential in Japan, inspiring an entire school of painting, the Nanping School, which flourished in Nagasaki during the Edo period and was named after the artist's courtesy name.Literature comparison: Compare with a related painting by the same artist in the Palace Museum, Beijing.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related painting of the same subject at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Fine Classical Chinese Paintings on 5 October 2015, lot 1129, sold for HKD 1,500,000.《松下仙鶴圖》沈銓學院 (1682-1760) 款中國,絹本設色。一隻在溪邊喝水,另一隻站在蒼勁的松樹上。周圍可見竹子和各種花朵。錦裝挂軸。紫檀手柄,很有可能來自該時期。款識:吳興沈銓;鈴印:沈銓,南蘋來源:來自塞爾維亞王國諾維薩德的Alexander Popov私人收藏,購於1900年至1920年之間。 圖片:Alexander Popov 品相:摺痕,少量污漬與水漬,小缺損,總體處於良好狀態。尺寸:縂250 x 92 厘米, 畫面167 x 84 厘米 拍賣結果比較:畫作見香港蘇富比Fine Classical Chinese Paintings 拍場2015年10月 5日 lot 1129, 售價HKD 1,500,000.