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ESTIMATE UPON REQUEST // PLEASE CONTACT THE AUCTION HOUSE // AN IMPORTANT CHINESE SCHOOL, WITH SIGNATURE OF GIUSEPPE CASTIGLIONE ALSO KNOWN AS LANG SHINING 郞世寧 (1688-1766) China, 20th century Portraits of Moyuli (墨玉璃) and Jinchixian (金翅猃), two hounds of the Emperor Qianlong Colours and ink on silk Mounted as a kakemono Inscribed with the signature of Lang Shining to the lower left Inscribed with a calligraphy to the upper right Bearing several red seals, five in total Dimensions (the sole painting): 123,5 x 52 cm Provenance: > Private collection; > Juan Carlos Katzenstein (1925-2018), an Argentinian Diplomat, who was an Ambassador in Beijing, China, from December 6, 1975 to January 2, 1978, and later to the Holy See (Vatican) and to the Sovereign Order of Malta from 1989 to 1991. Notes: Giuseppe Castiglione was an Italian Jesuit brother and missionary in China, where he served as an artist at the imperial court of three emperors - the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. He painted in a style that is a fusion of European and Chinese traditions. The hounds have been identified thanks to the "Album of the Ten-Prized Dogs" (十骏犬图), an imperial-commissioned work by the above-mentioned painter housed in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. The long calligraphy may be roughly read as follows: "Who said that the dogs are only used to bark, while the painter can portray various postures of the dogs, such as running, skipping etc. as they are really fascinating. Written by the Emperor Qianlong in early August 1744". The seals, five in total, may be roughly read as follow: a) "Five blessings in five Dynasties". This seal belongs to Emperor Qianlong aged 70; b) "Shi-Qu". This is the name of a book with many famous paintings, calligraphies and others; c) "Shi-Qu". The second volume of this book; d) "Yang Xin Hall". This painting was collected in that peculiar hall within the Forbidden City; e) "The Emperor will benefit his sons and grand-sons"; We did match three of the seals with the ones listed in BEURDELEY, Cecile and Michel. "Giuseppe Castiglione A Jesuit Painter at the Court of the Chinese Emperors". Lund Humphries London: 1972, pp. 192-193: a) nr. 6:, "Wu-fu-wu-tai-t'ang ku-hsi t'ien-tzu pao", Treasure of the aged Son of Heaven in the Hall of the Five Happiness and the Five Generations; b) nr. 14: "San-hsi-t'ang chieng-sien hsi", Seal of the Hall of the Three Rarities; c) nr. 28: "Yang-hsin-tien chien ts'ang pao", Treasure of the palace of Cultivating Hearts. Juan Carlos Katzenstein probably acquired or was offered this important painting while living in China. He and his family attached a great importance to this scroll and did study it thoroughly. They did present it to different scholars and even managed to have it both the poem and the seals translated into English. This painting is offered at auction with a documentation including notably (but not only) the book "Giuseppe Castiglione a Jesuit Painter at the Court of the Chinese Emperors" by Michel Beurdeley as well as as a few letters and envelopes, one adressed to "Castellgatto II", the residency of Juan Carlos Katzenstein while in Italy.