Page 228 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1942.9-586-587 (C-439-440)
Pair of Hexagonal Lanterns

Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)
Porcelain with overglaze famille verte enamels on the biscuit,
x
1942.9.586: 28.5 x 19.0 (nV4 x 7 /2)
5
1942.9.587: 28.5 x 19.4 (nV4 x 7 /s)
Widener Collection
TECHNICAL NOTES
Most of the original gilding that covered the openwork crowns While the precise drama represented here remains
of both lanterns has worn off. A small part of the crown of unknown, it is clear that the scenes take place in a
1942.9.586 has broken off and been reattached. Both lanterns Buddhist temple. The scenes appear clockwise in the
now have lead braces for hanging, which have been fitted into following order:
the upper necks.

1942.9.586
PROVENANCE
(S. Bing, Paris); sold 1884 to Mary J. Morgan, New York, (sale, Scene i: In a garden with an elaborately painted
American Art Association, New York, 3 March 1886, no. 532); balustrade and Taihu rocks, a military official and a
purchased by James A. Garland [d. 1901/1902], New York. J. scholar are shown looking at a howling dog. The sun is
Pierpont Morgan [1837-1913], New York; (Duveen Brothers, surrounded by orange clouds.
New York and London); sold 1915 to Peter A. B. Widener, Scene 2: Two men stand in the doorway of a pavilion
Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from and look out at two young women holding fans. The
Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appoint- older of the two men is bearded and has one arm around
ment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. the younger man, who holds a fan. In the surrounding
garden are fan-palms and a red balustrade. A gilded sun
ACH OF THESE DELICATE LANTERNS was hand built from appears in the sky.
Every thin slabs of porcelain. The openwork crowns at Scene 3: Inside a tent a seated military official and his
the top were molded separately and attached to the com- assistant face a kneeling bearded figure, who presents
pleted lower sections. The interiors are covered with a them with a book. In the background is a tall screen
thin, pale green enamel wash. The overglaze enamel dec- painted with fantastic rocks among crashing waves. In
oration on the exteriors is executed in the full famille verte the immediate foreground is the domed top of another
palette: blue, black, yellow, aubergine, red, gold, and three tent, behind which appear the tops of several banners
shades of green. The upper and lower panels on both and halberds.
lanterns are painted with reserved panels containing Scene 4: A large painted screen, a table, and a stool are
birds, butterflies, and other insects against a pale green placed on a terrace with a balustrade. On the table are a
dotted ground. The feet have been largely wiped free of book, a bronze tripod incense burner, and a circular box.
the colorless glaze, suggesting that they were originally A young scholar kneels and presents a book to a young
designed to fit into a base and not to be hung. Lanterns of woman. Behind the balustrade a servant approaches
this type were very popular during the Kangxi period, but bearing a tray with two wine cups.
surviving examples from this period are relatively rare. Scene 5: In a mountainous landscape, a man with a
The main decoration takes up the large rectangular green face and red beard addresses a man holding onto a
panels on the sides. The narrative scenes may illustrate a horse's halter. A servant stands by the first figure.
variation on events in the Romance of the Western Scene 6: In a room with a large moon window open-
Chamber, a drama written in the fourteenth century by ing onto a terrace, a young man with a folding fan talks
1
Wang Shim. This drama, which was one of the most with a monk seated on a garden stool. In the background
popular plays of the Ming and Qing dynasties, was based is a screen decorated with a landscape in the style of the
on a Tang-dynasty story entitled "The Biography of Cui Song-dynasty painter Mi Fu (1057-1101). On a table are a
Yingying" by Yuan Zhen (799-831). The Romance of the book, an incense burner, and a circular box. A bearded
Western Chamber follows the convoluted love affair of a servant appears through the window, bringing a tray
young scholar named Zhang Sheng with Cui Yingying, with wine cups.
the daughter of a deceased high minister. The action
takes place in a Buddhist monastery, where Cui Yingying 1942.9.587
and her widowed mother have stopped to rest while Scene i: The young man and woman seen on the first
accompanying the father's body to its burial place. lantern converse on a wooden garden walkway. Behind

212 D E C O R A T I V E A R T S