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Lot Essay
This extraordinary set of ten panels illustrates Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, accompanied by Dongwanggong, the King Father of the East, with numerous other Daoist Immortals and attendants gathered in the Daoist paradise at the Turquoise Pond (Yao chi) on Mount Kunlun.
Most examples of kesi panels depicting Daoist immortals show Xiwangmu descending on a phoenix accompanied by attendants, and it is exceptionally rare, however, to find a composition in which she is joined by Dongwanggong. Along the terrace stand the Three Star Gods, including the immediately recognizable Shoulao, depicted with his characteristic elongated cranium and flowing beard. Also represented are the Eight Daoist Immortals, with Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Li Tieguai, He Xiangu, and Zhang Guolao gathered on one side of the terrace, and Cao Guojiu and Lan Caihe on the other. Beside the stairway, a large fruiting peach tree emerges from the rocky landscape, reinforcing the theme of immortality. At the left of the terrace appears Liu Hai, standing atop his three-legged toad, while the Hehe Twins are shown nearby seated upon a large lotus leaf.
The complexity of the present composition is matched by its rarity. While single panels depicting similar scenes have been published, this appears to be the only known example of such an elaborate and continuous set. Each of these panels is narrower than published examples of single panels, which are typically around 100 cm. wide, and they were almost certainly conceived as part of a larger screen. Compare, for example, the imperial kesi trompe l’oeil twelve-panel screen, comprising ten panels inset with kesi scenes highlighted with black pigment and framed by two narrower kesi border panels, sold at Christie’s New York, 30 March 2005, lot 220.
A very finely executed ink and kesi panel depicting Xiwangmu, but without Dongwanggong, and dated to the Qianlong period (1736-1795), is in the Avery Brundage Collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (B62 D28) and illustrated by S. Little in Taoism and the Arts of China, 2000, pp. 319-20, no. 118, where it is suggested that the work was produced as an imperial birthday gift during the Qianlong reign. The present set is distinguished by its more complete and elaborate rendering of the terrace, set within the broader landscape of Mount Kunlun and offering a particularly expansive vision of this mythical paradise. Related scenes of immortals also appear on porcelain and other decorative arts. See, for example, the famille rose and huanghuali twelve-panel screen depicting Immortals celebrating Xiwangmu's birthday, sold at Bonhams London, 11 May 2017, lot 214.
This level of quality and elaborate workmanship suggests that the panels may originally have been commissioned for the birthday celebrations of a member of the imperial family. It is possible that they were made in honor of the birthday of Empress Dowager Chongqing (1669-1777), mother of the Qianlong Emperor. In 1736, the Qianlong Emperor completed the Palace of Longevity and Health (Shoukang Gong) for his mother. The palace hosted particularly lavish celebrations for her sixtieth, seventieth, and eightieth birthdays, occasions marked by empire-wide festivities and the presentation of extravagant gifts. Over time, Shoukang Gong became a major repository for imperial treasures, with nearly 2,000 gifts recorded in its collections, many decorated with motifs expressing wishes for longevity, including images of Daoist immortals (J. Stuart, Empresses of China's Forbidden City 1644-1912, 2018, pp. 84-85).
Shoukang Gong was not the only palace space known to have been decorated with Daoist-themed textiles. The Palace of Gathering Excellence (Chu Xiu Gong) is illustrated with a large kesi hanging depicting the Three Star Gods (Fu, Lu, and Shou) in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 54 – Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 299, no. 252.
Most examples of kesi panels depicting Daoist immortals show Xiwangmu descending on a phoenix accompanied by attendants, and it is exceptionally rare, however, to find a composition in which she is joined by Dongwanggong. Along the terrace stand the Three Star Gods, including the immediately recognizable Shoulao, depicted with his characteristic elongated cranium and flowing beard. Also represented are the Eight Daoist Immortals, with Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin, Li Tieguai, He Xiangu, and Zhang Guolao gathered on one side of the terrace, and Cao Guojiu and Lan Caihe on the other. Beside the stairway, a large fruiting peach tree emerges from the rocky landscape, reinforcing the theme of immortality. At the left of the terrace appears Liu Hai, standing atop his three-legged toad, while the Hehe Twins are shown nearby seated upon a large lotus leaf.
The complexity of the present composition is matched by its rarity. While single panels depicting similar scenes have been published, this appears to be the only known example of such an elaborate and continuous set. Each of these panels is narrower than published examples of single panels, which are typically around 100 cm. wide, and they were almost certainly conceived as part of a larger screen. Compare, for example, the imperial kesi trompe l’oeil twelve-panel screen, comprising ten panels inset with kesi scenes highlighted with black pigment and framed by two narrower kesi border panels, sold at Christie’s New York, 30 March 2005, lot 220.
A very finely executed ink and kesi panel depicting Xiwangmu, but without Dongwanggong, and dated to the Qianlong period (1736-1795), is in the Avery Brundage Collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (B62 D28) and illustrated by S. Little in Taoism and the Arts of China, 2000, pp. 319-20, no. 118, where it is suggested that the work was produced as an imperial birthday gift during the Qianlong reign. The present set is distinguished by its more complete and elaborate rendering of the terrace, set within the broader landscape of Mount Kunlun and offering a particularly expansive vision of this mythical paradise. Related scenes of immortals also appear on porcelain and other decorative arts. See, for example, the famille rose and huanghuali twelve-panel screen depicting Immortals celebrating Xiwangmu's birthday, sold at Bonhams London, 11 May 2017, lot 214.
This level of quality and elaborate workmanship suggests that the panels may originally have been commissioned for the birthday celebrations of a member of the imperial family. It is possible that they were made in honor of the birthday of Empress Dowager Chongqing (1669-1777), mother of the Qianlong Emperor. In 1736, the Qianlong Emperor completed the Palace of Longevity and Health (Shoukang Gong) for his mother. The palace hosted particularly lavish celebrations for her sixtieth, seventieth, and eightieth birthdays, occasions marked by empire-wide festivities and the presentation of extravagant gifts. Over time, Shoukang Gong became a major repository for imperial treasures, with nearly 2,000 gifts recorded in its collections, many decorated with motifs expressing wishes for longevity, including images of Daoist immortals (J. Stuart, Empresses of China's Forbidden City 1644-1912, 2018, pp. 84-85).
Shoukang Gong was not the only palace space known to have been decorated with Daoist-themed textiles. The Palace of Gathering Excellence (Chu Xiu Gong) is illustrated with a large kesi hanging depicting the Three Star Gods (Fu, Lu, and Shou) in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 54 – Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 299, no. 252.