Wu Dan 1662-1721

signed Zhongshan Wu Dan, dated dingmao (1687), with a dedication and two seals of the artist, wu dan zhi yin, zhong bai fu

1. Scent of Ink: The Roy and Marilyn Papp Collection of Chinese Painting, Phoenix Art Museum, September 2-October 9, 1994; The Chrysler Museum, Virginia, November 13, 1994-January 8, 1995; Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, September 9-November 11, 1995; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, December 15, 1995-February 18, 1996; China Institute, New York, February 4-June 10, 1998
2. Le Parfum de l'encre: Peintures Chinoises de la Collection Roy et Marilyn Papp, Musée Cernuschi, September 23-December 30, 1999
3. Lyrical Traditions: Four Centuries of Chinese Paintings from the Papp Collection, The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, June 22-October 7, 2007

1. Scent of Ink: The Roy and Marilyn Papp Collection of Chinese Painting, Phoenix Art Museum, 1994, cat. 11, p. 39
2. Le Parfum de l'encre: Peintures Chinoises de la Collection Roy et Marilyn Papp, Musée Cernuschi, 1999, cat. 12, p. 49

- Silk bears tanned tone due to age. - Minor restoration.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

'Today, we still do not know much about Wu Dan’s life. But as more and more pictorial data surface, his visibility increases. A Nanjing native, he was working when the Eight Masters of Jinling were active. Gong Xian knew of him though the nature of their connection is still uncertain. Was he a friend, a teacher? Stylistically, Gong Xian was avant-garde and Wu Dan appears tradition-bound. However, we can observe affinities between him and some of the contemporary Jinling masters. The indebtedness to the Northern Song, for instance, was as much a regional characteristic as Wu Dan’s own. He commands respect for his monumental conception, careful attention to details, crisp execution and sensitivity to ink gradation. If the generic description above fits the present painting, it only underscores Wu Dan’s consistency. The sole surprising factor pertaining to this painting is not in style or form, but in his inscription in which he alludes to Xia Gui, a Southern Song master, as his model. The surging mountain ranges and deep valleys, tall peaks and plunging waterfall, enclosing mists and dissolving forms: these are the features which impressed Zhang Geng in a former time and remain just as effective as pictorial images today.' 
- Scent of Ink, p. 39