Page 170 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art
P. 170
fig. 1
Panels arranged in accordance with the chronicles from Xixiang Ji (Romance of the West Chamber)
圖一
依《西廂記》故事情節排序
Skilfully executed across twelve panels, complete porcelain Only three other complete sets of porcelain screens of this
screens of this type are rare and it is particularly unusual type appear to have been published, all depicting scenes of
to find such a large scale illustration of a popular novel. Daoist immortals; one painted with the immortals celebrating
It illustrates the famous love story Xixiang ji (Romance the Peach Festival in the Western Paradise was sold in our New
of the Western Chamber), written in the Yuan dynasty by York rooms, 30th March 1983, lot 446; and two with varying
the playwright Wang Shifu (1260-1336). In accordance scenes of the immortals, were sold at Bonhams London, the
with the opulence that prevailed in the Qing period, large first, 15th May 2014, lot 88, and the second, 11th May 2017, lot
folding screens were an important part of furnishings and 214.
served multiple functions; from purely decorative devices to
partitioning rooms in private quarters or keeping out droughts. The delicately painted twelve panels of this piece provide visual
More frequently mounted with lacquer, textile or various clues to Xixiang ji. First composed as a zaju play, the popularity
inlaid materials, the rarity of such porcelain screens likely lies of this story continued through the centuries and became
in the difficulty of successfully forming and firing perfectly synonymous with the concept that love conquers all. The
flat porcelain pieces of this large size and heavy weight, and romantic and optimistic nature of the story is appropriately
ensuring it remained intact for subsequent firings after the rendered in a famille-rose palette, which brings an added
application of enamels, as well as its fragility. dimension of vitality. The drama tells the story of two lovers,
the handsome and aspiring scholar Zhang Sheng and the
168 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
