張大千　昆明山茶 | Chang Dai-chien (Zhang Daqian), Camellia

ink and colour on gold-flecked paper, framed

signed, dated 1945, with 5 seals of the artist

EXHIBITED

Hong Kong, The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Hall, Chinese Paintings Exhibition, December 15 to 17, 1960

ILLUSTRATED

Journal of Chan Kwan Po, Volume 4 (Hong Kong, Commercial Press Limited, August 2004), p.494

PROVENANCE

From the Family Collection of C.S. Loh (1913-1992), hence by descent

C. S. Loh (1913-1992), originally from Wuxi, Jiangsu, was a successful businessman and an art collector of exceptional taste. His career began in the 1940s when he followed in his father F.C. Loh (1884-1963)’s footsteps running textile businesses in Shanghai. His father had studied in the UK, and later managed the Mow Sing Flour Mills in China for the entrepreneur Yung Tsoong-King (Rong Zongjing). Similarly, C.S. Loh managed the Sung Sing Cotton Mills for the Yung family and achieved remarkable results. After relocating to Hong Kong in 1947, he founded Wyler Textiles Limited, which quickly prospered and became an industry leader in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1979, he was appointed chairman of the Hong Kong Cotton Spinners Association. His achievements in the industry earned him accolades such as the Presidential Medal and an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from Tufts University in 1984 and 1987, respectively.

As an avid art collector, Loh had a particular interest in Chinese painting and calligraphy. He co-founded the illustrious Min Chiu Society in 1960 with other like-minded collectors from the business community. It continues to be a very active society of collectors in Hong Kong today.

Loh was also an ardent admirer of Peking and Kun opera. He was a longtime friend of Zhao Peixin and received training from operatic luminaries such as Jiang Miaoxiang and Yu Zhenfei. Through Yu, Loh met and befriended other opera performers and literati, sharing a social circle with Chang Dai-chien, who was also a keen enthusiast of traditional opera.

According to the Loh family, Mrs Loh and Li Deying, wife of Li Zulai, both moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong in the late 1940s, and swiftly developed a strong friendship. Li Zulai comes from a wealthy family in Ningbo, while his father Li Weizhuang and siblings Li Zuhan, Li Qiujun, and Li Zutong were all close friends of Chang Dai-chien. As a trusted family friend, the artist relied on the Li couple to help on daily matters — acquiring and selling paintings, arranging remittance and forwarding family correspondence. They were also responsible for organizing several of his large-scale exhibitions in Hong Kong. Through the Li couple, the Loh family was introduced to Chang Dai-chien and his art, and hence began their journey of collecting.

Through the years, the Lohs kept in touch with Chang Dai-chien and his family. They were invited to dine at the artist’s home in Pebble Beach, and were gifted paintings as tokens of friendship.

In April 2023, Sotheby’s was entrusted by the family to offer Chang Dai-chien’s Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen, in celebration of Sotheby’s Hong Kong 50th Anniversary in Asia.

102 x 61 cm 40⅛ x 24 in.

張大千　昆明山茶

設色灑金箋　鏡框　一九四五年作

款識：太華山裏曼陀羅，爍日蒸霞簇錦窩。不用西園說文酒，多行紅粉醉顏酡。

昆明山茶老幹高聳，可四五丈。冬末春初，千花艷發，重疊交覆，偉於芍藥，太華山數本尤為壯觀，枝葉團扶，絢爛如錦。乙酉春，張爰。

鈐印: 「張爰私印」、「三千大千」、「大千豪髮」、「師萬物」、「大風堂」。

展覽：

香港，中華總商會禮堂，〈國畫展覽〉，一九六〇年十二月十五至十七日

著錄：

〈陳君葆日記〉卷四之一九六〇年（香港，商務印書館有限公司，二〇〇四年八月），頁494

來源：陸菊森伉儷收藏，由家族遞藏

陸菊森（C.S. Loh 1913-1992），又名菊生、菊笙，號率齋，別署率齋主人，室名陸率齋，江蘇無錫人。上世紀四十年代，隨父陸輔臣（F.C. Loh 1884-1963，一名輔仁）於滬上經營紡織業。其父曾留學英國，返國後為榮宗敬家族管理茂新麵粉廠。陸菊森主理榮氏申新紗廠，成績斐然，影響尤鉅。一九四五年，他與徐舜如、虞洽卿之子虞順慰共同持有上海華山路名園「周家花園」（又名純廬，舊名蕊園，後為華山花園）。一九四七年遷港後，開辦偉倫紗廠，業務發展方興未艾，五、六十年代為業界翹楚。一九七九年被推任為香港棉紡業公會主席，八四和八七年更獲美國塔夫茨大學 (Tufts University) 頒授總統勳章及工商管理榮譽博士學位。一生砥礪前行，成就卓著。

經商之餘，陸氏耽於書畫雅翫，風鑒明遠，廣結墨緣，收藏甚豐。自明至清，以迄近代，無不孜孜汲引。一九六○年，滬港工商界巨頭所創之敏求精舍成立，創會成員名單中，即見陸氏與陳光甫、黃秉章、趙從衍、徐士浩、葉義、王統元、林伯壽、郭正達、朱孔嘉、袁虬初、霍寶材、利榮森、劉漢棟、胡惠春共十五人，正是最早倡設此儔侶雅集者。以藝論交，至今蔚為佳話。

他篤嗜京劇崑曲，公餘之暇，不廢咀嚼吟詠。與京劇老生趙培鑫有舊誼，遂得梨園泰斗姜妙香及俞振飛親自授業數載。為保存俞派家學精粹，曾出資承印俞氏所編之〈粟廬曲譜〉。他與俞振飛相交甚契，在滬或港，往來密切，故俞氏相熟之梨園友人或藝林文人如程硯秋、沈葦窗等，與陸氏亦有過從。又因李祖萊、李德英夫婦之故，與孟小冬時相聚晤。張大千亦嗜傳統戲曲，與上述諸位皆具交情。

據陸氏家人憶述，陸夫人與李祖萊太太李德英同在四十年代末自滬來港，常相過從。李祖萊出身寧波富族，父薇莊、長兄祖韓、三姐秋君、四兄祖桐等，與大千兩代交誼，關係親若家人。畫家與李祖萊伉儷情同手足，不少瑣事雜務委付二人在港代為張羅處理，舉凡書畫買賣、轉達家書、匯款等，極得信任。畫家在港舉辦數次大型畫展，多交由李氏伉儷負責。陸家透過李祖萊伉儷，或經其介紹，購入多幅大千力作。大千移家多處，與陸氏家人始終保持聯繫，曾在環蓽盦設宴款待，並贈佳作以誌舊誼。

二〇二三年四月，蒙陸氏家族信賴，委託香港蘇富比拍賣珍藏張大千〈花開十丈影參差〉潑墨潑彩金箋雙摺屏風，誌慶香港蘇富比五十週年。

註：山茶，因花瓣層疊輪轉，頗似佛教藝術之曼陀羅圖案，故又名曼陀羅，乃佛教聖花，被尊為「瑞花佳木」。相傳佛祖說法時，手拈曼陀羅花，漫天降落花雨，象徵莊嚴、寧靜、如意。山茶四序常青，性耐霜雪，花開在冬末春初，艷而不妖，又為文人雅士稱賞。

雲南民間流傳一則關於山茶的故事，平西王吳三桂駐滇時，傳旨地方進獻奇花異草，陸涼縣普濟寺有一株珍品山茶，高二丈餘，花呈九蕊十八瓣，濃香四溢，縣令不顧百姓阻撓，獻予吳三桂。怎知茶花數年拒開，吳三桂又遭茶花仙子托夢恐嚇，只得將茶花送歸陸涼縣，因此茶花又被雲南人視為「勝利之花」。

大千作工筆重彩花卉，每取華貴之牡丹，茶花則寫其清雅，本幅罕以工筆重彩灑金箋寫昆明山茶，蓋因「滇中茶花甲於天下」，冠頭如碗，花姿雍容，堪與牡丹爭艷。昆明太華山中佛寺、宮觀喜植山茶，且多珍品，本幅即以山中茶花入畫。傳世資料所見，大千寫滇山茶極稀。

四十年代中期，乃張大千工筆重彩技法鼎盛階段。本幅寫於春季，時值山茶開候，採宋人折枝法，花團殷紅如醉，重瓣偃仰舒卷，若輕風拂過，深具動感。葉片則相對簡淨，簇擁於後，枝幹勁挺，烘托花朵婀娜之姿。線條、設色皆可見大千敦煌之行受石窟藝術的影響，勾勒精細，敷彩厚重，石青、石綠、硃砂等礦物顏料濃郁艷麗，花瓣、葉片向背處，色彩濃淡參差，層層渲染，盡顯豐腴質感。敷染完成，方以泥金勾勒花瓣邊緣、花蕊，石綠醒葉筋，凸顯立體感。所取箋紙原非金箋，乃畫畢再於空白處，遍灑細密金箔，既免於金箋汲墨難、行筆流滑之弊，亦彰金碧輝映之效，歷八十餘載仍保存如新，光彩耀目。

四邊裝飾唐人卷草紋，愈發突出山茶主角形象。花邊勾描填彩細緻，色彩古艷，與金箋之絢爛相得益彰， 典雅而不失現代感。此一源自莫高窟藝術的裝飾手法，始於大千臨摹敦煌壁畫，四十年代中期，亦飾於工筆重彩仕女、花卉，惟數量屈指可數，且悉為代表力作，如一九四四年〈紅拂女〉。花卉另僅見〈潑墨紫〉〈佛頭青〉二幀，尺寸較本幅小近半，亦灑金，極盡富麗堂皇之能事。二幀皆寫於四四年嘉平，與本幅相去不遠，之後似無復使用，當因耗工費力之故也。

一九六〇年，港大文學院教授、馮平山圖書館館長陳君葆受邀為〈國畫展覽〉撰寫文章，對展品之一的本幅歎為觀止，並在日記裡特別記錄，讚其「富麗極了」，另記當時擬定價七百五十元。

「看到一幅張大千的〈昆明山茶〉寫在灑金箋上，富麗極了！周圍繞邊，是從敦煌石窟學來的筆墨，襯托得格外有意思。題作：

『太華山裏曼陀羅，爍日蒸霞簇錦窩。不用西園說文酒，多行紅粉醉顏酡。

昆明山茶老幹高聳，可四五丈。冬末春初，千花艷發，重疊交覆，偉於芍藥，太華山數本尤為壯觀，枝葉團扶，絢爛如錦……』」

—錄自〈陳君葆日記〉一九六〇年十二月九日

己卯歲末，即一九四〇年一月，張大千自渝入滇，下榻武城路飲甘巷楊竹庵宅，原擬舉辦展覽，因作品未及由香港運抵作罷。四五年四月六至八日，方假昆明南屏街光裕銀行舉辦〈張大千國畫展覽〉，展出作品九十餘幀，惟本次展覽畫家或未親臨，乃委託張目寒主理。

張大千四〇年勾留昆明期間，遊覽西山、滇池等名勝，印象深刻，本幅所寫太華寺之山茶，即行中所見。乙酉春，畫家除本幅外，另有〈昆明三清閣圖〉、〈龍門圖〉等，從內容、時間推測，或皆為展覽所作。畫家在展覽啟事中有言：「三唐老本寫萼綠之苔枝，千錦朝霞爛山茶之芳艷」，足證山茶乃昆明展覽中最具代表性的精心傑作。

參考資料：一九四四年作〈潑墨紫〉、〈佛頭青〉可參見〈張大千書畫集〉第四集（臺北，歷史博物館，一九八三年一月），圖版77、7

〈龍門滇海—張大千的兩次昆明情緣〉刊於〈大觀〉月刊第一九八期（臺北，雅墨文化事業有限公司，二○二六年三月），頁108-115