Superb screen with ten leaves in Coromandel lacquer, finely decorated on one side with the arrival of a delegation near a palace, inside which there is a mandarin contemplating dancers and musicians. Nearby is a small lotus-flowered lake surrounded by young court ladies. The scene relates the reception given by General Guo Ziyi, famous for having saved the Tang Dynasty.
The perimeter is animated by dragons deployed among flowers and foliage scrolls.
The other side is finely carved with calligraphic motifs in xingshu, enhanced with gold, illustrating a poem written by the scholar Gong Zhang (1637-1695). On the left, there are also the names of the donors.
This screen is a commissioned piece made in honor of General Meng Wengjin.
Sheet size 208 x 50 cm
Provenance: Marquis de Trazegnies.
Private collection, Brussels.
Coromandel is located on the southern part of the coast between the Godava River and Nagapatnam in India. In the 1496th century, the trade and import of furniture from China to Europe was carried out by sea. Goods passed through Coromandel, which made it a vital point for trade. Many believe that the objects arriving from Coromandel were made on site. The Portuguese were the first to arrive in India in 1514, then in China around XNUMX. Coromandel screens were very popular at the time, so that one can find illustrations decorating Flemish interiors illustrated on paintings from the XNUMXth century. and XVIIIth centuries.
These large Coromandel lacquer screens were the subject of gifts to high dignitaries and military personnel in China during the time of the Kangxi Emperor. Several examples are illustrated in Michel Beurdeley's book "Chinese furniture".
Full Description