Bird paintings in family over a century sell for £780,000 after turning out to be by renowned Chinese artist

Bird paintings that had been in a family for over a century have sold for £780,000 after turning out to be by a renowned artist.

The 18th-century Imperial Chinese bird paintings by Qing dynasty court painter, Jiang Tingxi, were discovered in their homes.

A set of seven was found in one house, and twelve paintings in another.

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The discovery was made by expert, Bill Forrest, during a routine valuation at a home in South London.

There, seven original paintings by Jiang Tingxi were found.

Rare bird paintings by Qing dynasty artist Jiang Tingxi, long held by a British family, sold for £780,000 after being rediscovered with original texts intact. — Set of twelve bird paintings by Jiang Tingxi. (Jam Press/Roseberys)

This initial discovery led to the identification of twelve further paintings in Dorset, owned by a related family member.

Together the nineteen paintings were part of an encyclopaedic bird album commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor, completed around 1721 and among the very few known surviving works by Jiang still in private hands.

After removing the pictures from their frames, it was found all retained their original accompanying texts.

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These descriptive texts are recorded in the Catalogue of the Imperial Collection of Painting and Calligraphy, but none of the very few examples that have come to auction have had them attached.

The texts offer meticulous ornithological observations alongside philosophical commentary and references to Chinese folklore.

Some of the birds illustrated are not recorded in classical Chinese or early modern European ornithological texts, giving the works exceptional scholarly value.

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Both sets of paintings were acquired by Major Iain Menzies after the First World War, as reported by What’s The Jam.

Major Menzies served in the Coldstream Guards, joining in 1914 and being recruited from the Special Reserve to serve in France with the Brigade Machine-Gun Company.

He was the younger brother of Major-General Sir Stewart Menzies, wartime Chief of MI6 and head of the British Special Operations Executive, founded in 1940 to coordinate espionage and sabotage against Axis forces.

The paintings were hung in the Menzies’ home, Tadley, Hampshire, during the 1950s, before moving to Cannon Hall, Hampstead, northwest London, a grand Georgian residence inherited from Iain’s aunt, Muriel Wilson.

It is believed Muriel gifted the bird paintings to Iain’s wife, Lisa Menzies, to hang in Tadley Court.

When the couple relocated to Cannon Hall, the paintings were reframed with coral mounts and gilt frames to complement the interiors.

The paintings were divided among descendants following Iain Menzies’ death in 1979 and have never before been exhibited or offered for sale.

Jiang Tingxi was one of the most revered painters and scholars of the Qing court, celebrated for his bird-and-flower works, erudition and intellect.

He worked closely with Western missionaries at court, adopting European artistic methods including chiaroscuro and linear perspective.

Combined with the traditional Chinese “boneless” (mogu) painting style, this fusion led to the emergence of the so-called “Jiang School” of naturalistic painting.

His original paintings were held in the private study of the Qianlong Emperor, who admired them so greatly he issued multiple edicts for the album’s reproduction.

While a number of faithful court copies are preserved in the Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei, original works are exceedingly rare.

Bill Forrest, who made the discovery, said: “This is one of the most extraordinary discoveries of my career.

“To find not only original works by Jiang Tingxi, but ones that have survived in private hands, unknown to scholars, and with their original texts intact, is beyond extraordinary.