A VERY RARE IMPERIAL ALOESWOOD EMBELLISHED LACQUER AND ZITAN VENEER PANEL

Aloeswood, chenxiangmu, is the resinous wood from the Aquilaria tree enxiang mu, an evergreen tree native to Southeast Asia. The Aquilaria tree frequently becomes infected with a parasite fungus or mould, Phialophora parasitica, and begins to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack. It is this precious resinous wood that is treasured around the world, particularly in China, Japan and Tibet. Due to the soft and perishable nature of the material, not many examples of aloeswood carving have survived.

Although no other examples of aloeswood embellished panels appear to have been published, a number of panels and screens embellished with different types of wood are found in the Palace Museum collection, Beijing. Compare with jichimu, zitan and bamboo embellished examples illustrated in Bamboo, Wood Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 44, Commerical Press Hong Kong, 2002, nos. 69, 92 and 93. Compare also with a much larger red sandalwood screen dating to the Qianlong period also in the Palace Museum collection illustrated in Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 236, no. 201.