Lot 351
SAYA SAUNG (BURMESE, 1898-1952)
THREE WATERCOLOUR PAINTINGS OF LADIES
Auction: 06 November 2026 from 10:00 GMT
Description
ဆရာဆောင် 人物圖 水彩紙板（共三幅）
watercolour on boards, all signed ‘MG SAUNG’ lower right, one with frame, two with backing boards (3)
Dimensions
30.2cm x 22.2cm each
Provenance
Private Scottish collection, Ayrshire; inherited from the current owner's grandfather, who was a Merchant Sea Captain during the early 20th century.
蘇格蘭私人收藏，艾爾郡；繼承自現任藏家之祖父，其祖父於20世紀初擔任商船船長。
Footnote
Saung was the only Burmese painter working in the Western tradition to be honoured with the title ‘Saya’ (meaning teacher, master, or mentor). Regarded as the founder of the Mandalay School of watercolour painting, he was likely influenced by Ba Zaw, whom he is thought to have known even before Ba Zaw’s studies at the Royal College of Art in London from 1927 to 1930. An influential artist with an extroverted personality, Saung considered alcohol and tobacco to be important contributors to his artistic practice. In addition to his landscape paintings, he produced portrait studies of the Shan and other ethnic groups, reflecting his interest in the diverse peoples and cultures of Burma.
One fascinating portion of Saung's oeuvre are his little-known portraits. Approximately seven have appeared thus far, but there may be a dozen or two more. One of these works has appeared in two publications: Amar's Modern Burmese Painting and Ranard's Burmese Painting: A Linear and Lateral History.
Compare to Saya Saung's landscape paintings, ‘Mandalay Palace Moat’, ‘A Burmese temple’, were sold at Bonhams London, 6 December 2023, part lot 69; ‘Moonlight over Mandalay Moat’, sold at Bonhams London, 11 December 2024, lot 93; ‘Mandalay Palace’, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 30 September 2024, lot 128.