Page 164 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021
P. 164
The present lot has sixty Shou (壽) characters on each screen. It is
likely therefore, that it was made for the occasion of the Qianlong
Emperor’s 60th birthday celebration (held on the 1st month of the 35th
year of his reign, approximately 1770). The motif of numerous Shou
characters (meaning ‘longevity’) is common for birthday celebrations
and appeared as early as the Kangxi reign. See a massive blue and
white ‘Ten thousand Shou vase, which bears 9,999 Shou characters
and one wan character, illustrated in The Complete Collection of
Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White Porcelain with
Underglazed Red (III), Hong Kong, 2002, pp.8-9, no.5.
See a single related incised celadon jade and lacquer ‘longevity’
table screen, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby’s Paris,
10 June 2021, lot 101.
(invoice)
162 | BONHAMS
