ANONYMOUS Portrait of Shi KefaProperty of Various Owners各方藏家ANONYMOUSPortrait of Shi KefaInk and colour on silk, framedTitleslip on the back signed Wang Xun (?-1915), dated jiayin year (1914) and with two seals of his127.5 x 73cm (50¼ x 28¾in)Provenance:Private Europe CollectionOriginally in the collection of Asher Wertheimer (1844-1918), a famous London art dealer, and thence by descent.Asher Wertheimer (1844-1918) was a London-born picture and fine art dealer of 158 New Bond Street. He is famous for providing antiques and paintings for late Victorian society. A number of his collection were auctioned by Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods on 18 June 1920, catalogued and published. Meanwhile some of the collections were passed within his family and onto the hand of his descendants. In 1905, Helena Wertheimer, the daughter of Mr. Asher Wertheimer, was married to Mr. Robert Mathias. The collector is the grandson of Betty Mathias and inherited the painting from the Mathias family. At the back of this painting is a biography with a number "No. 57", believed to be lotted when it came into the ownership of Asher Wertheimer Galleries, New Bond Street, London. This portrait shows us a great faithful statesman Shi Kefa of the Ming Dynasty, he was sacrificing his life while the country being arose troubles. It is portrayed by Su Chao Ding, (who) was the heir of Shi Kefa. At the top of this picture there is an inscription, written by Wang Xun (1846-1915), who was a famous calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty.佚名　史可法像　設色絹本　鏡框汪洵題簽簽條：明史忠正公遺像。甲寅（1914）三月既望，陽湖後學汪洵拜觀敬題。鈐印：汪洵私印、子淵淵若來源：歐洲私人珍藏。現藏家繼承自外祖母，其外祖母繼承自其父阿舍·韋特海默(1844–1918），倫敦著名藝術品經銷商。註：史可法（1602-1645），字憲之、道鄰，諡忠烈、忠靖。乾隆朝改諡忠正。河南開封人。天啓七年（1627）舉人，崇禎元年（1628）聯捷進士，授西安府推官，歷任戶部員外郎、南京兵部尚書等職。崇禎十七年（1644），北京陷落，崇禎帝自縊駕崩，史可法擁立朱由崧，並出任南明朝廷之太子太保、後改兵部尚書、武英殿大學士。一六四五年，清軍攻剋揚州，史可法拒降殉國。《欽定勝朝殉節諸臣錄》評其「節秉清剛，心存幹濟，危顛難救，正直不回」。明代文武一般公服按品級、等級不同，顔色、花紋各異。文官公服「盤領右袵袍，用紵絲或紗羅絹，袖寬三尺。一品至四品，緋袍......文官常服補子花樣，一品、二品仙鶴、錦鷄，三品、四品孔雀、雲燕......」。南京博物院有藏〈史閣部〉像，紙本設色，畫中人物乃官服半身像，著紅袍，仙鶴補子，帶黑色官帽；《聖賢像傳略》卷十六亦載有史可法半身像，乃木刻白描本，官帽、朝服可與本幅參照。本幅無落款，畫中人物著緋袍，補子可見仙鶴、蓮花紋飾，乃明朝高級文官形制。據畫背英文説明記述肖像由史可法後人史朝鼎（Su Chao Ding）繪製，上具汪洵題堂。