Three paintings to be put on wall of Stoke STUDENT FLAT by landlord are revealed to be worth £20,000

Three paintings set to be put on the wall of STUDENT FLAT in Stoke by landlord are revealed to be the work of celebrated Chinese artist and worth £20,000

  • Paintings that were to hang in a student flat in Stoke are set to fetch £20,000
  • Three paintings were bought in the 1950s and found in Barlaston, Staffordshire
  • They were revealed to be the work of the celebrated Chinese painter Qi Baishi
  • They will be sold individually at Hansons’s Fine Art Auction on September 24

Watercolour paintings which were set to hang on the walls of a student flat in Stoke are expected to fetch £20,000 at an auction after they were revealed to be the work of a celebrated Chinese artist.

The three paintings by Qi Baishi were found in Barlaston, Staffordshire, during a routine visit by Alexander Clement, consultant valuer for Hansons Auctioneers. 

He said: ‘The paintings, each depicting a different flower, were purchased in London in the 1950s by a lady who was excited to receive her first pay cheque and wanted to buy something beautiful to adorn her home.

Three watercolour paintings which were found in a home in Barlaston, Staffordshire, are worth £20,000 after they were found to be the work of renowned Chinese painter Qi Baishi

‘The paintings remained in the family home, latterly in Staffordshire, where they were hung on the staircase wall.

‘They were passed handed down through the family but were not thought to be more than decorative and had been destined to decorate a student flat.’

The work of influential Chinese artist Qi Baishi, pronounced Chee Buy-shee, is highly regarded and sought after by many collectors, both in mainland China as well as Britain.

Mr Clement added: ‘During the course of valuing the general contents of the home, I immediately recognised the paintings and set about researching them to verify if they were original works or print reproductions. 

‘I was delighted to find they were, indeed, original ink and watercolour studies, each bearing a seal by the artist.’

Each painting measures a mere 29cm by 20cm but are set to fetch a staggering total price of around £15,000 to £20,000. 

The paintings (above) were set to hang in a student flat in Stoke but will now be sold individually at Hansons's Fine Art Auction on September 24 in Etwall, Derbyshire

The paintings (above) were set to hang in a student flat in Stoke but will now be sold individually at Hansons’s Fine Art Auction on September 24 in Etwall, Derbyshire

Qi Baishi's Twelve Landscape Screens set a record for the highest-selling Chinese painting ever sold at auction at £107.5million, setting high hopes for the watercolour paintings (above)

Qi Baishi’s Twelve Landscape Screens set a record for the highest-selling Chinese painting ever sold at auction at £107.5million, setting high hopes for the watercolour paintings (above)

Qi Baishi, who died in Beijing on September 19, 1957, had a reputation for his wide variety of subjects for his unique artwork.

His earlier works included performers, everyday people and animals, but he was then introduced to the xeiyi, or freestyle method of painting, by his mentor Wu Changshuo.

In 2017, his Twelve Landscape Screens (1925), set a new record for the highest-selling Chinese painting ever sold at auction at £107.5million.

Qi, who was born on January 1, 1864, was first trained as a carpenter and taught himself to paint using the Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden, a painting guidebook from the Qing dynasty era. 

The paintings will be sold individually at Hansons’s Fine Art Auction on September 24 in Etwall, Derbyshire.

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