Page 148 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017

3627

AN INLAID CARVED PORCELAIN This striking screen has been executed with
AND SOAPSTONE ZITAN meticulous detail and great skill in trompe l’oeil
REVOLVING SCREEN WITH inlaid onto a flat surface. The production of
IMPERIAL POEMS screens of this type required the cooperation
SEAL MARKS AND PERIOD OF of various Palace workshops, where skilled
QIANLONG craftsmen paid particular attention to recreating
elements of the design in their specialised
one side of the revolving rectangular porcelain medium. In its novelty, subject and complexity of
screen inlaid with carved porcelain and soapstone production, it represents the Qianlong Emperor’s
with a butterfly fluttering above delicate penchant for the novel, while spanning a range
chrysanthemum blooms borne on thin gnarled of literati disciplines including poetry and
stems, the lower left section with two seal calligraphy.
marks reading Qianlong chenhan (‘the Qianlong
Emperor’s own mark’) and weiyi weijing (‘be In both technical expertise and script, the
precise, be undivided’) respectively, the reverse inlaid calligraphy on this screen is noteworthy.
with an excerpt of an imperial poem in running The script closely resembles that of Tang Ying
script followed by the same seal marks, all (1683-1756), Superintendent of the imperial
against a dark-brown glazed ground, enclosed in kilns in Jingdezhen during the Yongzheng and
a frame carved with scrollwork, the zitan stand Qianlong reigns. While he is most celebrated for
adorned with reticulated gilt-decorated celadon- his work at the kilns and his ability to translate
glazed flanges modelled in the form of floral the emperors’ tastes into porcelain, he was also
scrolls and kui dragons an accomplished calligrapher and poet. The
78.5 cm, 30⅞ in. masterful dexterity of potters of the Qianlong
period is represented in the striking fluidity of
HK$ 2,000,000-3,000,000 the porcelain strokes, which upon first glance
US$ 258,000-387,000 appear to have been rendered with a brush. It is
extremely rare to find calligraphic porcelain inlay,
清乾隆 although a pair of panels with unglazed seals of
紫檀嵌瓷飾芙蓉石御題「菊花」轉心插屏 Tang Ying reading Tang Ying shu (‘calligraphy
「乾隆宸翰」、「惟精惟一」印 by Tang Ying’) was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
29th May 2013, lot 2012; and another pair is
illustrated in Chugoku bijutsu shiho ten, Tokyo,
1981, pl. 59.

題識： The writing style of the panels also closely
看到東籬覺有神，風流畫使更詩人。 compares to the calligraphy of Tang Ying found
素華獨殿群芳後，個裏原藏萬卉春。 on porcelain wares; see a waterpot in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, published in Qingdai yuyao ciqi,
vol. 1, pt. II, Beijing, 2005, p. 9; a brushpot sold in
these rooms, 8th April 2011, lot 3073; and a cup
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st December 2009,
lot 1921.

The crossover between porcelain and this
piece is also seen in the revolving nature of
this screen. Most double-sided screens would
have been mounted as table screens, able to
be seen from both sides. While this screen also
features a mount, which is unusual yet lavish
in its combination of porcelain with zitan, it has
an added revolving function. In this sense it is
reminiscent of revolving vases, an innovation of
the Qianlong period and a product of Tang Ying’s
creative genius that would have satisfied the
emperor’s fondness for technically challenging
and innovative designs.

146 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比