CHINA, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722) - Lot 135

CHINA, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722) Large twelve-leaf screen in Coromandel lacquer, the incised decoration in matte polychrome lacquer on a natural wood background, presenting on the main face a vast palace scene illustrating the celebration of the 80th birthday of the famous general Guo Ziyi (697-781), with horsemen and a palanquin arriving at the entrance where a group of musicians is playing, and in the center the seated dignitary receiving tributes in a pavilion in front of which dancers and musicians are performing, two immortals arriving on clouds, the scene framed by a frieze of flowering foliage and chimeras, and the whole surrounded by scholar's objects and antiques on both sides and in round medallions above, as well as fantastic animals in round medallions below, on the rim a frieze of shou (longevity) characters and stylized cranes on a honeycomb background, on the other side a decoration made up on each leaf, in the middle of a scene of scholars and young servants engaged in various garden activities beside a lotus pond, at the top of a square cartouche containing a lakeside landscape inhabited by pavilions and boats, and at the bottom of another containing rocks and various flowers (peonies, prunus, chrysanthemums, lotus, etc.), a frieze of rincets and a small flower.), a frieze of flowering scrolls on the rim. H. 259 cm; L of one leaf 45.7 cm LM Vertical cracks, chips, restorations. Provenance : French private collection since the early 20th century. Coromandel lacquer was so called by Europeans because these pieces were passed from Chinese junks to the ships of the various India companies along the Coromandel coast in India. The large screens using this particular lacquer technique were intended as gifts for high-ranking dignitaries in China, but from the Kangxi period onwards they were exported to Europe in large numbers, where they enjoyed great success, either installed in their entirety in grand residences, or dismantled and reused as decorative panels on furniture.