A PAIR OF VERY LARGE EMBROIDERED SILK 'HUNDRED BIRDS' PANELS...
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY 女士藏品
A PAIR OF VERY LARGE EMBROIDERED SILK 'HUNDRED BIRDS' PANELS SET INTO HONGMU SCREENS
19th century
The panels finely embroidered with a multitudinous variety of birds fluttering in luxuriant, flowering gardens, all on cream silk grounds, the reticulated frames and stands skillfully carved with lotus blooms and entwined scrolling foliage, set on recumbent Buddhist lion feet. Overall 190cm (74 7/8in) high x 117.5cm (46in) wide x 47.5cm (18 5/8in) deep. (2).
十九世紀 紅木邊框鑲緞地粵繡「百鳥朝鳳」圖座屏一對
Provenance: Parry Collection, London, and thence by descent
來源： 倫敦Parry家族舊藏，並由後人保存迄今
The scene depicts numerous birds, in tribute to the popular and auspicious design of the 'Hundred Birds Paying Tribute to the Phoenix'. According to Chinese legend, the phoenix is the Queen of all feathered creatures, appearing only in times of prosperity and peace. Birds also played a prominent part in the visual culture of rank and hierarchy, as the various ranks of the civil bureaucracy were represented on official robes with badges depicting a bird. Thus, the first rank badge was a Manchurian crane; the second rank, a golden pheasant; the third, a peacock, etc., down to the eighth and ninth ranks represented by quails and sparrows. Screen depicting the multitudes of birds, in an Imperial context, would suggest the harmonious gathering of officials at court: the bird kingdom mirroring the Son of Heaven's human realm.
A similar single 'hundred-birds' silk embroidered wood framed panel, 19th century, is in Greenway House, Devon, but without the lower wood section (acc.no.NT118793). A single similar large blue-ground embroidered 'hundred-birds' panel inset within a wooden screen, 19th century, was sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2018, lot 319.
Bid on this lot
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY 女士藏品
A PAIR OF VERY LARGE EMBROIDERED SILK 'HUNDRED BIRDS' PANELS SET INTO HONGMU SCREENS
19th century
The panels finely embroidered with a multitudinous variety of birds fluttering in luxuriant, flowering gardens, all on cream silk grounds, the reticulated frames and stands skillfully carved with lotus blooms and entwined scrolling foliage, set on recumbent Buddhist lion feet. Overall 190cm (74 7/8in) high x 117.5cm (46in) wide x 47.5cm (18 5/8in) deep. (2).
十九世紀 紅木邊框鑲緞地粵繡「百鳥朝鳳」圖座屏一對
Provenance: Parry Collection, London, and thence by descent
來源： 倫敦Parry家族舊藏，並由後人保存迄今
The scene depicts numerous birds, in tribute to the popular and auspicious design of the 'Hundred Birds Paying Tribute to the Phoenix'. According to Chinese legend, the phoenix is the Queen of all feathered creatures, appearing only in times of prosperity and peace. Birds also played a prominent part in the visual culture of rank and hierarchy, as the various ranks of the civil bureaucracy were represented on official robes with badges depicting a bird. Thus, the first rank badge was a Manchurian crane; the second rank, a golden pheasant; the third, a peacock, etc., down to the eighth and ninth ranks represented by quails and sparrows. Screen depicting the multitudes of birds, in an Imperial context, would suggest the harmonious gathering of officials at court: the bird kingdom mirroring the Son of Heaven's human realm.
A similar single 'hundred-birds' silk embroidered wood framed panel, 19th century, is in Greenway House, Devon, but without the lower wood section (acc.no.NT118793). A single similar large blue-ground embroidered 'hundred-birds' panel inset within a wooden screen, 19th century, was sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2018, lot 319.
