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Lot Essay
The kuancai technique, or Coromandel lacquer as known in the West, emerged in the 16th century and was aimed at the domestic market. It was a new innovation for Chinese lacquer craftsmen to produce large and highly decorative screens more economically, in order to replace the very expensive and labour-intensive lacquer screens decorated with mother-of-pearl inlays. The technique relates to that of cloisonné enamel where raised outline form cloisons which are then infilled with colour.
The craftsmanship and composition of the palace scene on the current screen is very similar to that on a dated screen sold in our New York Rooms, 16 September 1999, lot 152, especially in its treatment of the trees, the rockwork and the delicacy in its portrayal of the figures. The screens also have similar architectural layout which progresses from the right to the left, including the gateway, the main hall and the ladies' quarters respectively. On both screens we see a group of equestrians approaching the gate, following visitors already arrived, crossing a bridge in the garden. The principal figure is seated in the main hall, and flanked by a group of men in official dress on the right, and another group in martial dress on the left, symbolising the two pillars of society. The screen sold in 1999 was dated to 1687, and it is very possible that the current screen is made around the same time.
The reverse of the current screen is very unusual, which depicts fan-shaped and rectangular cartouches containing either poetic inscriptions, Immortal figures or landscapes. Another screen, offered by ???? in New York in the spring of 2006, also features comparable cartouches. However, the inscribed fan-shaped cartouches on the current screen are non-specific, while the ones on the ??? example refer to specific fans by well-known artists.
Compare also another screen sold in our New York Rooms, 22 April 1999, lot 148, which features very a very similar palace scene but with no decoration on the back.
The current screen is from the same collection as the magnificent screen sold in these Rooms, 17 June 2003, lot 101, which depicts the popular subject Bai niao chao huang (a hundred birds paying tribute to the phoenix).
The craftsmanship and composition of the palace scene on the current screen is very similar to that on a dated screen sold in our New York Rooms, 16 September 1999, lot 152, especially in its treatment of the trees, the rockwork and the delicacy in its portrayal of the figures. The screens also have similar architectural layout which progresses from the right to the left, including the gateway, the main hall and the ladies' quarters respectively. On both screens we see a group of equestrians approaching the gate, following visitors already arrived, crossing a bridge in the garden. The principal figure is seated in the main hall, and flanked by a group of men in official dress on the right, and another group in martial dress on the left, symbolising the two pillars of society. The screen sold in 1999 was dated to 1687, and it is very possible that the current screen is made around the same time.
The reverse of the current screen is very unusual, which depicts fan-shaped and rectangular cartouches containing either poetic inscriptions, Immortal figures or landscapes. Another screen, offered by ???? in New York in the spring of 2006, also features comparable cartouches. However, the inscribed fan-shaped cartouches on the current screen are non-specific, while the ones on the ??? example refer to specific fans by well-known artists.
Compare also another screen sold in our New York Rooms, 22 April 1999, lot 148, which features very a very similar palace scene but with no decoration on the back.
The current screen is from the same collection as the magnificent screen sold in these Rooms, 17 June 2003, lot 101, which depicts the popular subject Bai niao chao huang (a hundred birds paying tribute to the phoenix).