An Important Dated Twelve-Panel Coromandel Lacquer Screen

DATED TO THE DINGMAO YEAR, OF THE REIGN OF KANGXI, CORRESPONDING TO 1687

细节

An Important Dated Twelve-Panel Coromandel Lacquer Screen
Dated to the Dingmao Year, of the Reign of Kangxi, Corresponding to 1687
Presumably depicting the birthday celebrations of the owner of the screen in the lavish setting of his mansion and its extensive grounds, the dignitary seated in a central reception hall enjoying the spectacle of dancing ladies as friends and officials approach to pay tribute, the garden with outer pavilions, covered walkways and a small stream, the boundaries delineated by a tiled wall, on the other side of which wait the grooms and horses, the upper panels with details of antiquities, the side and lower panels with an array of animals including dragons amidst clouds, the reverse inscribed with a long dedication in kaishu enclosed by a shou-medallion border, the upper sections of the panels with baskets of flowers and scholars' objects, the lower sections crisply detailed with the flowers of the seasons
Each panel: 112 x 19in. (284.5 x 49.5cm.)

拍品专文

The present lot is an impressive example of its type, combining the highest quality of lacquer workmanship with a dedication of historical importance. The dedication indicates that the screen was presented to Magistrate Tian in Fujian in 1687, on the occasion of his birthday and praises his benevolence and integrity. The dedication is signed by, and stamped with the seal of Zheng Kaiji, an official of the Imperial Academy who composed the text. An additional thirty emissaries, magistrates and administrators in the province are also listed as having ordered this commemorative screen.