A rare Coromandel lacquer ten-leaf 'Palace' screen


Cyclically dated to Dingmao year, corresponding to AD1687 and of the periodExquisitely decorated on one side with a detailed palace scene showing a delegation approaching from the right-hand side, a flag with the character shuai flies above next to the gate, in the centre of the enclosed palace is a dignitary, entertained by dancers, the rear of the palace with courtly ladies and ponds, the border decorated with chi-dragons, the reverse with a long dedicatory inscription by the scholar Gong Zhang in fine xingshu calligraphy in gold, further to the left are the names of the donors. 208.1cm (81 7/8in) high x 502cm (197 1/2in) wide. (10).
|清康熙 丁卯年（1687年） 黑漆彩繪郭子儀祝壽圖十開屏風Provenance: Marquis de TrazegniesGisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient, BrusselsA Belgian private collection, acquired from the above on 21 June 1990來源： Marquis de Trazegnies舊藏布魯塞爾古董商Gisele Croes Arts D'Extreme Orient比利時私人收藏，於1990年6月21日購自上者The present lot was initially commissioned for the Chinese domestic market and not for export, as is clearly demonstrated by the lengthy inscription.Such screens were highly expensive and laborious to produce, and were intended for use by high-ranking officials, scholars and gentry who commissioned them to commemorate important events. The present lot appears to have been commissioned by a group of officials who are named on the far left-hand side, for the birthday of General Meng Wengjin 夢翁金. The long dedicatory essay was written by Gong Zhang 龔章 (1637–1695).The palatial scene on the screen depicts a reception or banquet given by General Guo Ziyi 郭子儀 (697-781), a celebrated figure who was credited with saving the Tang dynasty by putting down the An Shi rebellion. He was later made a prince and eventually deified in popular culture as a God of Wealth and Happiness. The subject would have made this screen a highly appropriate birthday gift for a military general such as Meng Wengjin. The lengthy encomium on the reverse was written by the official and educator Gong Zhang. Originally from Guishan County (now Huizhou), at age 24 he was of the highest-grade exam candidates. In 1673, Gong achieved the highest degree of jinshi and became in charge of the Hanlin examiners. He later hosted the exams in the Jiangnan region and passed many famous scholars.Several coromandel lacquer screens with similar scenes of palaces and processions, Kangxi, are illustrated by W.De Kesel and G.Dhont in Coromandel: Lacquer Screens, Gent, 2002, pp.40-44. See also further examples illustrated by M.Beurdeley, Le Mobilier Chinois: Le Guide du Connaiseur, Fribourg, pp.135-142.Compare also with a related twelve-leaf screen with palatial scenes, Kangxi, dated to 1681, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 8 March 2016, lot 111.