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Lot Essay
According to the inscription, the present screen was given by a group of friends to a high ranking nobleman by the name of Master Hou, from Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in celebration of his 80th birthday. Master Hou's full name does not appear in the text but among one of the principal presenters of the screen is the name of Wang Fu, a high official of the Hanlin academy. Wang Fu's name appears as one the first giftees which places him as an important main figure within the group; the text records Wang Fu as to have qualified as a Jinshi, an equivalent to a doctorate graduate under the complex Qing dynasty examination system, in the cyclical jiachen year. Among published names of court graduate officials, Wang Fu is recorded as a Jinshi in the second year of Yongzheng (1724) which is also the cyclical jiachen year, cf. Mingqing Jinshi Timing Beilu Suoyin, A Record of Listed Jinshi Names of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, part I, Shanghai, 1963, p. 257.
Among other giftees is the name of Deng Zhongyue, followed by a two-character seal, Dongchang. Deng Zhongyue is identified as the court official who became a Jinshi in the 60th year of Kangxi (1722), as listed in Zhongguo Lishi Renming Da Cidian, A Biographical Dictionary of Historical Chinese Dignitaries, part I, Shanghai, 1999, p.336; where it also gives the name Dongchang as Deng's zhi, or designation. As published dates for Wang Fu and Deng Zhongyue all indicate the first half of 18th century, the cyclical Bingchen date which appears on the screen as the time when this screen was presented, most certainly dates to 1736, the second year of the Qianlong reign.
The symbolism of the present screen is not only a celebration of longevity as suggested by the intricately carved shou characters but it also portrays a strong visual image of opulent gentlemen from the higher echelons of society enjoying leisurely pursuits. Such an ideal prevailed from as early as the Ming period, and is clearly depicted on paintings such as the handscroll, 'Scholars Gathering in the Apricot Garden', by the Court painter, Xie Huan, who was active during the Xuande period, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji: Huihua Bian, Shanghai, 1996, vol. 6, no. 42. This painting compares well to the depiction on the extremely well-executed coromandel section of the present screen. A particular point of note is the standing figure dressed in a red official's robe with his hand raised as if to write an inscription on the rock; this echos that of the Ming official, also dressed in an official's red robe, in the Xie Huan handscroll. The overall imagery is undoubtedly a reflection of the high social status of the person for whom this present screen was intended.
It is extremely rare to find a screen of such large size, and almost in its original condition, using huanghuali as the main frame combined with decorative coromandel panels. This screen's importance lies in its historical record of the identifiable main players in the group; and its precise and accurate dating in which this commemorative event took place. There are no known examples of this type, although the closest comparison is a twelve panel screen in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, inset with original silk paintings depicting a celebration scene, illustrated by R. D. Jacobsen and N. Grindly, Classical Chinese Furniture, Minneapolis, 1999, p. 156-157, no. 54. Although the Minneapolis example measures at almost the same height (325.7 cm. high), it is constructed with five horizontal rails, wumaweiping, as oppose to this highly unusual seven horizontal registers, rendering the main panel less elongated in size. Whilst the present screen was made specifically as a birthday gift, the Minneapolis screen which is not inscribed, served as a backdrop for 'important ceremonial events and formal social gathering ... as focal points within the great hall and palaces of aristocratic China', ibid., p. 155.
Other comparable screens with similar openwork stylised shou characters are published; the first of these, from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, without the vertical main panels, sold in our New York Rooms, 19 September 1996, lot 107, dated late 17th to early 18th century; another was included in the exhibition, The Beauty of Huanghuali, illustrated by J. Ang in the Catalogue, no. 26, and sold in these Rooms, 30th October 1994, lot 419.
Compare the intricate coromandel lacquer workmanship with a ten-panel screen designed with long tailed phoenix in a rock garden landscape, dated to the Kangxi period, sold in these Rooms, 3 November 1998, lot 1113.
Among other giftees is the name of Deng Zhongyue, followed by a two-character seal, Dongchang. Deng Zhongyue is identified as the court official who became a Jinshi in the 60th year of Kangxi (1722), as listed in Zhongguo Lishi Renming Da Cidian, A Biographical Dictionary of Historical Chinese Dignitaries, part I, Shanghai, 1999, p.336; where it also gives the name Dongchang as Deng's zhi, or designation. As published dates for Wang Fu and Deng Zhongyue all indicate the first half of 18th century, the cyclical Bingchen date which appears on the screen as the time when this screen was presented, most certainly dates to 1736, the second year of the Qianlong reign.
The symbolism of the present screen is not only a celebration of longevity as suggested by the intricately carved shou characters but it also portrays a strong visual image of opulent gentlemen from the higher echelons of society enjoying leisurely pursuits. Such an ideal prevailed from as early as the Ming period, and is clearly depicted on paintings such as the handscroll, 'Scholars Gathering in the Apricot Garden', by the Court painter, Xie Huan, who was active during the Xuande period, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji: Huihua Bian, Shanghai, 1996, vol. 6, no. 42. This painting compares well to the depiction on the extremely well-executed coromandel section of the present screen. A particular point of note is the standing figure dressed in a red official's robe with his hand raised as if to write an inscription on the rock; this echos that of the Ming official, also dressed in an official's red robe, in the Xie Huan handscroll. The overall imagery is undoubtedly a reflection of the high social status of the person for whom this present screen was intended.
It is extremely rare to find a screen of such large size, and almost in its original condition, using huanghuali as the main frame combined with decorative coromandel panels. This screen's importance lies in its historical record of the identifiable main players in the group; and its precise and accurate dating in which this commemorative event took place. There are no known examples of this type, although the closest comparison is a twelve panel screen in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, inset with original silk paintings depicting a celebration scene, illustrated by R. D. Jacobsen and N. Grindly, Classical Chinese Furniture, Minneapolis, 1999, p. 156-157, no. 54. Although the Minneapolis example measures at almost the same height (325.7 cm. high), it is constructed with five horizontal rails, wumaweiping, as oppose to this highly unusual seven horizontal registers, rendering the main panel less elongated in size. Whilst the present screen was made specifically as a birthday gift, the Minneapolis screen which is not inscribed, served as a backdrop for 'important ceremonial events and formal social gathering ... as focal points within the great hall and palaces of aristocratic China', ibid., p. 155.
Other comparable screens with similar openwork stylised shou characters are published; the first of these, from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, without the vertical main panels, sold in our New York Rooms, 19 September 1996, lot 107, dated late 17th to early 18th century; another was included in the exhibition, The Beauty of Huanghuali, illustrated by J. Ang in the Catalogue, no. 26, and sold in these Rooms, 30th October 1994, lot 419.
Compare the intricate coromandel lacquer workmanship with a ten-panel screen designed with long tailed phoenix in a rock garden landscape, dated to the Kangxi period, sold in these Rooms, 3 November 1998, lot 1113.