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Lot Essay
Jin Sanwei is regarded as the finest birdcage maker from the school of Nanlong (Southern Chinese birdcage school). Birdcages crafted by Southern Chinese artisans are prized for their delicate design and complex construction. The signature feature of Nanlong-school birdcages is the rectangular form constructed with the shuankun (strap and bind) technique, which can be seen on the top and bottom rims of the present example. (Fig. 1) This technique differentiates Nanlong from its rival, Beilong (Northern Chinese birdcage school), which is typically constructed with the traditional Chinese furniture making technique of maosun (mortise and tenon). Although bamboo is the common material used in the Nanlong school, the present birdcage is made with luxurious zitan timber and accented with intricate burl inlays. This showcases the maker’s access to expensive materials and the high-level commission he received to make it.
A zitan birdcage of similar design signed by Jin Sanwei, in the Yuehua Xuan Collection, is illustrated by Tian Jiaqing in Yuehua Xuan cang Qing dai jiaju yu zhenwan (Qing dynasty Furniture and Antiques in the Collection of Yuehua Pavillion), Beijing, 2017, p. 52, no. 9. Another example in the Suzhou Museum is illustrated in Handicraft Works Collected by Suzhou Museum, Beijing, 2009, p. 130. Together with the present example, all three birdcages are made with zitan and are of nearly identical size, and constructed with 17 vertical posts on each side and secured with 3 horizontal posts. However, these three birdcages vary in the inlay and ornament decorations as well as the signature styles of Jin Sanwei. It is noteworthy that the present birdcage appears to be the only example bearing the maker’s signature that cites a production location, Hu (Shanghai), which may indicate that Jin Sanwei was invited to Shanghai to make this birdcage. The exceptional quality of the present birdcage exemplifies Jin’s unparalleled status as the master of the Nanlong school.