"Allure" Original
Watercolor, Acrylic, and Gouache on Japanese SIlk
20 inches tall by 27 inches wide
Price $15,000  -  Plus $250 Shipping

​    Xishi (circa 497 BC) is hailed as one of the Four Great Beauties of China.  She is said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink below the surface upon seeing her reflection in the water.  At the time, China was in the middle of a civil war.  The king of Wu had just annexed the kingdom of Yue, and the king of Yue was held hostage for three years.  When he returned to his homeland, he vowed to bring about the demise of the king of Wu.  Fan Li was the prime minister of Yue.  One day, he saw a girl with exquisite beauty washing silk on the banks of a river.  This was Xishi.  He recruited her, groomed her in song and dance, and the art of seduction.  She was presented to the king of Wu as a peace offering from the king of Yue.  The mighty tyrant fell head over heels in love with her.  He neglected all his affairs of state and thought only of spending time with Xishi.  He told her all the state secrets, which she relayed to Fan Li, and in the end, Yue defeated Wu.