A FINELY CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER SCREEN QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the rectangular screen finely and intricately carved in varying layers of relief through the rich cinnabar red to reveal in parts the black and ochre layers beneath, carved to one side with a lakeside landscape scene depicting Wang Xizhi at his desk in at the Orchid Pavilion about to compose a poem on a scroll, whilst one attendant approaches bringing refreshment and another leaves carrying a goose, nestled amongst jagged rockwork, pine, paulownia, willow and bamboo trees, with wine cups floating down the lake on lotus leaves towards other scholars seated on the banks with writing utensils in hand, and tall mountain peaks rising in the distance, the reverse decorated with a similar landscape scene depicting a scholar and two boys watching on as crane flies into the distance, with two boys carrying a birdcage across a bridge, while others tidy and sweep a pavilion, all within double keyfret bands, the bottom panel carved with bats amid a composite floral scroll, all supported on an elaborately carved stand with an apron carved with further bats flying amid lotus scrolls 

The screen is very good condition overall with only expected minor horizontal age cracks, minor nicks along the edges, and only a couple of minor areas of retouching to areas of loss.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Finely carved double-sided cinnabar lacquer screens of this type are quite rare, although a very close example with different scenes can be found on a screen in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pl. 373.  Another similar pair of screens with the Eight Immortals on one side and antiquities on the other is illustrated in ibid. pl. 375 (one screen) and the mate illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures, vol. 46, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 64.   See a cinnabar panel illustrating the same "Lanting Xu' scene sold in our New York rooms 22nd March 1995, lot 423 and later in these rooms 23rd October 2005, lot 364. 

Compare a very related lacquer screen in the Palace Museum Beijing,  narrower in form, depicting the same scene, but set amidst towering bamboo groves and inscribed with a poem in relief, illustrated in Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Beijing, 2002, pl.181. The similar way the clouds, mountains, pine trees and shoreline, are carved on both screens strongly suggests that they are contemporary works from the same studio. The depiction of the Lanting gathering is also occasionally found on cinnabar lacquer boxes, such as a circular box in the National Palace Museum depicting the scene also set in a bamboo grove, illustrated in Emperor Ch'ien-lung's Grand Cultural Enterprise, Taipei, 2002, cat.no.38, and a larger rectangular one sold in Christie's Hong Kong, April 28, 2003, lot 730. See a small cinnabar lacquer trilobed tray with the same subject in the current Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, lot 2948.

The scene splendidly rendered on this Imperial cinnabar lacquer screen depicts Wang Xizhi at the famous Lanting (Orchid Pavilion) gathering near Shanyin, Zhejiang province, to celebrate the Spring Purifying Ceremony in the ninth year of the Yonghe reign (353 A.D.). Including Wang, who is depicted here staring at the scene from his pavilion, forty-two guests were invited to participate in a joyous poetry competition, which condemned them to drink wine if they failed to come up with a poem. The panel depicts the scene with wine cups floating down the stream on lotus leaves. To the compilation of the poems composed on the occasion, Wang wrote a preface, Lanting xu, reflecting his feelings about life and death. Wang considered it his finest work, and to this day, it is seen as the best example of xingshu (running script) calligraphy, making Wang the 'father of calligraphers' in Chinese history.