Page 162 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

VARIOUS PROPERTIES
889
A RARE AND LARGE DALI MARBLE-INSET
ZITAN TABLE SCREEN
19TH CENTURY
The variegated dali marble panel is suggestive of a dramatic mountainous
landscape, and is enclosed within a zitan frame set into a zitan stand carved
with two chilong confronting a beribboned cash symbol on the waist above
scrolled apron that joins thick shoe feet fanked by beaded, standing spandrels.
35 in. (88.9 cm.) high, 27æ in. (70.5 cm.) wide, 12º in. (31.1 cm.) deep

$80,000-120,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Pennsylvania.
Decorative stone panels have long been prized by the literati for their
abstract imagery and complex patterns. Often evoking dramatic landscapes,
these panels were set into tables, display stands or screens. Table screens
were set on the scholar’s desk to encourage refection.
The present table screen is exceptional for the unusually large size of the
dali marble stone and its prominently fgured bands. The black, inky swirls
stand in striking contrast to the creamy white tones of the stone, creating a
pleasing and dramatic efect. Screens of this rarer large size could be placed
on large painting tables or on the foor. A slightly smaller dali-marble inset
screen with a huanghuali frame and stand is illustrated by Grace Wu in The
Best of The Best: The MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, vol. 2, Hong Kong,
2017, p. 504-505. See also a dal- marble and zitan table screen, formerly in
the Ed and Nancy Rosenthal Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 14-15
September 2017, lot 945.
清十九世紀 紫檀嵌大理石插屏

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