Hufan Wu - 吴湖帆 (1894-1968), fan painting, China, 20th century Ink and watercolor on paper depicting lotus leaves and flowers. At top left, an inscription that comes from a famous prose essay by Zhou Dunyi - 周敦颐 (1017-1073), a neo-Confucian philosopher of the Song dynasty. The text is entitled 爱莲说 - Ài Lián Shuō - "In Praise of the Lotus": 予独爱莲之出淤泥而不染, which can be literally translated as "I particularly love the lotus, for, having come out of the mud, it is undefiled". Next comes a cyclical date: 戌寅七月朝日 - "At dawn of the seventh month of the wuyin year (1938)" and the artist's signature 吴湖帆 - Wu Hufan followed by a seal. To the right, another seal, probably from a collector. Sight size: 23.5 x 50 cm Framed under glass. Provenance: From an important private collection belonging to a Dutch noble family.