A RARE TWELVE LEAF COROMANDEL LACQUER DOUBLE-SIDED SCREEN

18th century

18th century
Finely decorated on both sides with garden scenes depicting numerous Immortals and figures from Daoist folklore, one side with Laozi riding his ox, poets, fairies and mythical animals, the reverse with further mythical figures including the Queen Mother of the West, the Star Gods inspecting the Taiji Diagram and the birthday celebration for Guo Ziyi, a Tang dynasty hero, surrounded by arriving guests crossing the footbridge to approach the central pavilion where the hero is also entertained by dancers and musicians, in the courtyard groups of military and civilian officials waiting their turn to pay respects, surrounded by noble families, all below rectangular and circular reticulated panels set on diaper grounds, within a floral border interspersed with rectangular, fan-shaped and circular cartouches depicting further figures and flowers. Each leaf 292cm (115in) high x 54cm (21 1/4in) wide (12).

十八世紀 款彩樓閣園遊圖十二開屏風

Provenance: a US West Coast private collection

來源：美國西岸私人收藏

The term 'Coromandel lacquer' was originally coined for this type of Chinese lacquer by Europeans who mistakenly thought that it originated from the Indian Coromandel Coast, as a result of its passing through the trading ports whilst en route to the West. These screens were highly expensive and laborious to produce, and were intended for use by high-ranking officials, scholars and gentry who commissioned them to commemorate important events such as birthdays.

The present lot contains numerous allusions to auspicious events in Chinese myth and legend, and would have been an appropriate birthday gift. One panel, for example, shows the Queen Mother of the West descending from the clouds on a phoenix. She presided over the mythical Orchard of Immortality, whose peaches could rejuvenate Immortals. In time, motifs of the Queen Mother of the West came to represent the wish for longevity.

Another scene on the screen depicts a reception or banquet given by General Guo Ziyi (697-781), a celebrated figure who was credited with saving the Tang dynasty by putting down the An Shi rebellion. He was later made a prince and eventually deified in popular culture as a God of Wealth and Happiness. Depictions of Guo Ziyi and his numerous offspring celebrating his birthday were also frequently employed on screens of this kind.

There is also a scene of the poet Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427) renowned for his love of wine and chrysanthemums which later, due to his poetry, became a symbol of rustic autumnal retirement. It is probable that the scenes on this screen derived from woodblock prints in popular novels.

Several Coromandel lacquer screens decorated with similar scenes of palaces and processions, Kangxi, are illustrated by W.De Kesel and G.Dhont in Coromandel: Lacquer Screens, Gent, 2002, pp.40-44. See also further examples illustrated by M.Beurdeley, Le Mobilier Chinois: Le Guide du Connaiseur, Fribourg, pp.135-142.

Compare also with a related twelve-leaf screen with palatial scenes, Kangxi, dated 1691, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 7 December 2016, lot 61.