‘BEAUTY IN A GARDEN, WEARING A TIAN-TSUI TIARA’, ZHENG MUKANG (1901-1982), DATED 1941China. Ink and watercolors on paper, with a silk brocade frame and mounted as a hanging scroll. Depicting a lady strolling in a garden, framed by a prunus tree and rockwork issuing bamboo, dressed in fine robes tied at the waist and adorned with a blue, flowing scarf. Her hair tied in a high coiffure, wearing a kingfisher feather (Tian-Tsui) tiara.Inscriptions: Top left, dated ‘Three days before the winter solstice in the Year of Xingsi’ (corresponding to 1941), signed ‘Mukang Zheng Shixuan’. Two seals ‘Zheng Mukang yin’ and ‘Mukang Shuhua’.Provenance: From a European private collection.Condition: Good condition with some wear, creasing, and little staining.Dimensions: Image size 66.7 x 42.5 cm, Size incl. mounting 171.5 x 56.5 cmZheng Mukang (1901-1982) was a Chinese painter born in Chaoyang, Guangdong Province. He was an apprentice to several notable artists before bing a teacher of Chinese Painting at the Shanghai Art School. He is well-known for his gongbi (meticulous) style renditions of Chinese beauties.Tian-Tsui is a style of Chinese art featuring kingfisher feathers. For 2,000 years, the Chinese have been using the iridescent blue feathers of kingfisher birds as an inlay for fine art objects and adornment, from hairpins, headdresses, and fans to panels and screens. Kingfisher feathers are painstakingly cut and glued onto gilt silver. The effect is like cloisonné, but no enamel was able to rival the electric blue color. Blue is the traditional favorite color in China.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2018, lot 1466Price: HKD 75,000 or approx.EUR 9,700 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: Zheng Mukang (1901-1982), Lady ReadingExpert remark:pare the related motif, also wearing a Tian-Tsui tiara, theposition, and fine brushwork. Note the size (98 x 42.8 cm).Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: San Francisco, 10 December 2012, lot 5323Price: USD 12,500 or approx.EUR15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: Zheng Mukang (1901-1982), Beauty Under a WillowExpert remark:pare the related motif, also wearing a Tian-Tsui tiara, theposition, and size (68 x 35.6 cm).鄭慕康(1901-1982)《紅衣仕女圖》1941年中國，紙本水墨設色，掛軸。一位美人在花園中漫步，身側有一棵桃樹與假山綠竹。她穿著精美的長裙，梳高髻，佩戴點翠髮飾。款識：辛巳冬至前三日寫，慕康鄭師玄；鈴印：鄭慕康印，慕康書畫