Page 102 - Fine Chinese Art Bonhams London May 2018

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A PAINTING OF AN OFFICIAL
Late Qing Dynasty
Ink and colour on silk, depicting a seated official with a fur-lined hat,
holding a ruyi-sceptre in his left hand, a boy-attendant stands behind
him holding a long staff, beside them a table with incense burner, a
vase with a sprig of prunus, and Buddha’s hand citrons, all before a
painted screen with a dragon, framed and glazed.
120cm (47 1/4in) high x 63.5cm (25in) wide.

£8,000 - 12,000
CNY71,000 - 110,000

清末 高士執如意像 設色絹本 鏡框

79
A PAINTING OF A SCHOLAR IN HIS STUDIO
Late Qing Dynasty
Ink and colour on silk, depicting a scholar in a blue robe seated on a
low kang in front of a painted screen with a landscape, before him a
boy-attendant prepares tea on a table, all amidst potted plants and
rocks as well as antique vessels, glazed and framed.
95cm (37 3/8in) high x 67cm (26 3/8in) wide.

£6,000 - 8,000
CNY54,000 - 71,000

清末 高士雅讀 設色絹本 鏡框
80 * TP

A TWELVE-LEAF LACQUER ‘PALACE’ SCREEN
Qianlong, cyclically dated to the Gengyin year, corresponding to 1770
and of the period
Finely painted with palace scenes filled with courtiers, musicians,
and ladies, in the central palace named the Wen ye dian sits a Daoist
dignitary before a Yin Yang symbol, while a minister proffers a tortoise
shell for divination, on the far right a deity descends on a cloud, a
soldier carries a flag with the phrase ‘yi shi liufang’ meaning to ‘leave
a good name for generations to come’, all bordered by further square
78 panels with scenes of scholars, the lower register with flowers and
birds, the reverse with the Eight Immortals at the far ends framing a
lengthy calligraphic inscription between panels with auspicious shou
characters in three different calligraphic scripts.
221cm (87in) high x 338cm (133in) wide. (12)
£10,000 - 15,000
CNY89,000 - 130,000
清乾隆 庚寅年（公元1770年） 彩繪樓閣園遊圖十二開屏風

The present lot is rare for its unusual depiction of palatial settings with
a deity descending on the far right, perhaps Geruda. Palace scenes
usually depict the General Guo Ziyi (697-781) receiving birthday gifts.
Other scenes with palaces may relate to the Romance of the Three
Kingdoms or depictions of the ‘Spring Morning in the Han Palace’ if
all the figures are female. For examples see W.De Kesel and G.Dhont,
Coromandel: Lacquer Screens, Ghent, 2002, pp.32-57.

The palace in this screen is named the Wenye dian (文葉殿). This could
be referring to a scene from the book Huangming shi qie (皇明史竊) by
the Ming dynasty writer Yi Shouheng 尹守衡 (1549-1631) describing a
coronation or the choosing of an heir. While many screens usually have flags
with the character ‘leader’ (shuai 帥), if the scene relates to the choosing
of an heir it would explain the message from the flag in the present lot that
reads ‘leave a good name for generations to come’ (奕世流芳).

The inscription on the reverse of the screen written by Yang Lianchang
陽聯長 from Guangzhou (according to the inscription he passed the
Imperial examinations in 1741) makes clear that it was meant as a
birthday gift to Rui Wengren 瑞翁仁.
79
For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
94 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.