Property of a Gentleman
A twelve-panel Coromandel 'birthday' screen, Qing dynasty, 17th / 18th century | 清十七 / 十八世紀 髹漆加彩群仙祝壽圖十二扇屏風
Auction Closed
March 17, 08:20 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A twelve-panel Coromandel 'birthday' screen
Qing dynasty, 17th / 18th century
清十七 / 十八世紀 髹漆加彩群仙祝壽圖十二扇屏風
each side richly carved and infilled with polychrome lacquers against a black ground, the principal side dominated by a magnificent scene of a Daoist immortals, officials, and supplicants traversing a celestial landscape to pay tribute to Shoulao seated in a pavilion at the center of the composition, the steps of the pavilion opening onto a balustraded garden filled with devotees approaching and bearing gifts of peaches, amidst them a pair of musicians playing the flute and castanets, an attendant stoking a censer, and a pair of cranes strutting, the grounds lined with groupings of rocks, bamboo, and gnarled trees, to either side of the compound additional immortals arriving across a turbulent sea or aloft swirling clouds, including Xiwangmu approaching on a canopied chariot, Li Tieguai astride a crane and brandishing an iron crutch with a double-gourd fastened to it, Lan Caihe floating on a cloud with a flower basket in hand and accompanied by a deer carrying large peaches, and Liu Hai riding a toad alongside Qin Gao on a carp, among other figures from the Daoist pantheon, all framed by a border of stylized dragons set between 'landscape' panels above and 'mythical beast' panels below and surrounded by a floral border at the perimeter, the reverse with the 'Hundred Birds' in a resplendent garden filled with flowers of each season in bloom, in the center a pair of massive phoenix fanning out their rich plumage with magpies, cranes, pheasants, songbirds, and other species perching or flying nearby, bound by a floral border and surrounded by further 'bird and flower' panels above and below all within a further floral border, the legs beneath each panel carved with an integral trefoil-shaped apron
Each panel: Height 109 in., 277 cm; Width 19 ¼ in., 49 cm
The present screen is a particularly fine example of Coromandel screens carved with 'birthday' and 'hundred birds' themes. On the principal side, no detail is spared in the depiction of the figures, from the fine patterning of the embroidery on their robes, to the subtle total contouring of their faces, and the variations in their gestures and expressions. The same level of care is also lavished on the reverse, where each bird and flower comes to life in its vibrant colors, naturalistic movement, and integration with its environment. This level of detail is characteristic of Coromandel screens made in the 17th and 18th century, when artisans took pains to individualize each element within a composition in order to make the image as dynamic and immersive for the viewer as possible.
The primary image on the present screen is that of Qunxian zhushou, the auspicious occasion of the birthday of the Daoist God of Longevity, Shoulao. The theme originated in plays from the Song dynasty and was a popular subject in Chinese art throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties. The presence of the Qunxian zhushou imagery suggests that the screen was made as a birthday gift, to convey a wish that the recipient enjoy a long and happy life. The birds on the reverse each carry their own auspicious meanings, and the overall composition can be understood as the 'hundred birds courting the phoenix' (bainiao chaohuang or bainiao chaofeng), or 'hundred birds paying homage to the king (bainiao chaowang). Because phoenix only appear during peaceful reigns, it is closely connected with the ruler, and in this motif it symbolizes the relationship between a ruler and his officials. To the recipient of this screen, this imagery would convey a wish for order and harmony, which create the conditions for a peaceful and prosperous life.