A rare Coromandel ten-leaf lacquer 'Palace' screen
Cyclically dated to Dingmao year, corresponding to 1687 and of the period
Cyclically dated to Dingmao year, corresponding to 1687 and of the period
Exquisitely decorated on one side with a detailed palace scene showing a delegation approaching from the far right, a flag with the character shuai flies above and stands next to the gate, in the centre of the enclosed palace is a dignitary, entertained by dancers, the rear of the palace with courtly ladies and ponds, the border decorated with chi-dragons, the reverse with a long dedicatory inscription by the scholar Gong Zhang in fine xingshu calligraphy in gold, further to the left the names of donors. 208.1cm (81 7/8in) high x 502cm (197 1/2in) wide. (10).
??? ??????1687?? ?????????????
Provenance: Marquis de Trazegnies
Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels
A Belgian private collection, acquired from the above on 21 June 1990
??? Marquis de Trazegnies
???????Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient
?????????1990?6?21?????
The present lot was destined for the domestic market and not for export, as is clearly demonstrated by the lengthy inscription.
Such screens were highly expensive and laborious to produce, and were aimed at high-ranking officials, scholars and gentry who commissioned them to commemorate important events. The present lot appears to have been commissioned by a group of officials who are named on the far left, for the birthday of General Meng Wengjin ???. The long dedicatory essay was written by Gong Zhang ?? (1637?1695).
The palatial 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. The subject would have made this screen a highly appropriate birthday gift for a military general such as Meng Wengjin.
The lengthy encomium on the reverse was written by the official and educator Gong Zhang. Originally from Guishan County (now Huizhou), at age 24 he was of the highest-grade exam candidates. In 1673, Gong achieved the highest degree of jinshi and became in charge of the Hanlin examiners. He later hosted the exams in the Jiangnan region and passed many famous scholars.
Several coromandel lacquer screens 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 to 1681, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 8 March 2016, lot 111.
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Cyclically dated to Dingmao year, corresponding to 1687 and of the period
Cyclically dated to Dingmao year, corresponding to 1687 and of the period
Exquisitely decorated on one side with a detailed palace scene showing a delegation approaching from the far right, a flag with the character shuai flies above and stands next to the gate, in the centre of the enclosed palace is a dignitary, entertained by dancers, the rear of the palace with courtly ladies and ponds, the border decorated with chi-dragons, the reverse with a long dedicatory inscription by the scholar Gong Zhang in fine xingshu calligraphy in gold, further to the left the names of donors. 208.1cm (81 7/8in) high x 502cm (197 1/2in) wide. (10).
??? ??????1687?? ?????????????
Provenance: Marquis de Trazegnies
Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient, Brussels
A Belgian private collection, acquired from the above on 21 June 1990
??? Marquis de Trazegnies
???????Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient
?????????1990?6?21?????
The present lot was destined for the domestic market and not for export, as is clearly demonstrated by the lengthy inscription.
Such screens were highly expensive and laborious to produce, and were aimed at high-ranking officials, scholars and gentry who commissioned them to commemorate important events. The present lot appears to have been commissioned by a group of officials who are named on the far left, for the birthday of General Meng Wengjin ???. The long dedicatory essay was written by Gong Zhang ?? (1637?1695).
The palatial 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. The subject would have made this screen a highly appropriate birthday gift for a military general such as Meng Wengjin.
The lengthy encomium on the reverse was written by the official and educator Gong Zhang. Originally from Guishan County (now Huizhou), at age 24 he was of the highest-grade exam candidates. In 1673, Gong achieved the highest degree of jinshi and became in charge of the Hanlin examiners. He later hosted the exams in the Jiangnan region and passed many famous scholars.
Several coromandel lacquer screens 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 to 1681, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 8 March 2016, lot 111.
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