Page 112 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021

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A FINE GROUP OF SIX SILK
BROCADE SUTRA COVERS
16th to 18th century
The first with a profusion of multi-coloured
double gourds issuing from leafy vines
and florets, all on a vibrant emerald-green
ground; the second with a flying phoenix
amidst blossoming lotus and foaming waves,
all on a coral-red ground; the third with flying
cranes interspersed with flowering shrubs on
a deep-green ground; the fourth with seven
dragon roundels alternating with cruciform
clusters of ruyi clouds on a rich orange
ground; the fifth with gilt designs of five-
clawed dragons striding amidst vaporous
ruyi clouds on a red ground; the sixth with
blossoming lotus interspersed with flowering
branches on a dark blue ground.
34cm (13 3/8in) long x 13.5cm (5 2/8in)
wide. (6).
£3,000 - 5,000
CNY27,000 - 45,000

十六至十八世紀 織錦經面 一組六件

Provenance: a distinguished New York
private collection, 1990’s

來源：紐約顯赫私人收藏，於二十世紀九十
年代入藏

Elegant covers composed of paperboard
wrapped in decorative silk protected
Buddhist scriptures, sutras, which were
bound accordion-style. The covers thus
protected the sacred words and presented
the sutras in beautiful envelopes that
signalled the importance of the contents
within. The use of silk for sutras covers dates
back to at least the Tang dynasty, but most
extant examples are from the Ming dynasty
and later, when the printing industry grew in
China.

Sutra covers were typically made of lustrous
silk, often highlighted by metallic thread,
which made possible a wide array of patterns
and designs including floral scrolls, Buddhist
emblems, traditional Chinese symbols
of blessings, and Chinese auspicious
characters with auspicious meanings.

Compare with a related plain-weave silk
sutra cover, 16th century, decorated with
gilded designs of dragons and clusters of
ruyi clouds, from the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York, acc.no. 2011.221.36. See
also eight further related silk sutra covers,
16th/17th century, decorated with various
designs, illustrated by Xu Zheng and Zhao
Feng, A Study of the Collection of Sutra
Covers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art,
Shanghai, 2019, pp.136-139.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
110 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.