A Rare Early Painted Wood Panel

LIAO DYNASTY

Details

A Rare Early Painted Wood Panel
Liao Dynasty
Composed of four horizontal boards, painted with a procession of men who are graduated in height, the first two figures holding their clasped with right thumb raised, the first and largest figure bearded and wearing a scholar's cap and dark reddish-brown robe, the next two figures with their hair worn in side locks and wearing shorter robes and boots, the fourth figure, drawn in outline only, also wearing a short belted robe and boots, his hair worn in side locks beneath a fur hat tied under his chin, with a sleeping dog behind them and two others in the foreground, the border on the left side painted with formal foliate reserves, all in cream, black, reddish-brown, green and blue
26.3/8 x 35in. (67 x 88.9cm.), framed

Lot Essay

Compare the delicate, detailed drawing with two similar Liao panels in The Art Museum, Princeton University, illustrated in Cary Liu's symposium paper, 'Sung Dynasty Painting in the T'ai-ch'ing-lou Library Hall: From Historical Commemoration to Architectural Renewal,' Cary L. Liu and Dora C.Y. Ching ed., Arts of the Sung and Yuan: Ritual, Ethnicity, and Style in Painting, Princeton University, 1999, figs. 5-6, pp. 98-99, particularly the servants with Khitan hairstyle of shaved pate and sidelocks, the treatment of the drapery, and the presence of little pet dogs. Note the clasped and raised thumb gesture of the official and first attendant, signifying respect and used during celebratory rites.

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