Page 159 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong Sotheby's April 2017

offering longevity.’ All these symbols and rebuses convey the
auspicious wish for longevity and endless good fortune.

The entire vertical scroll is centred around the shou character.
The gold dragons in the medallions symbolise the emperor’s
supreme authority and power. The auspicious motifs in
the tiantou and ditou express a wish for longevity and good
fortune. In regards to colour, the medallions are scintillating
and eye-catching, the tiantou and ditou are colourful in
an understated way. The two form an eye-catching but
harmonious and aesthetically pleasing contrast.

It is particularly noteworthy that the entire scroll, from the fig. 1
centrepiece of the shou character and the medallions to the Kesi ‘shou’ scroll, Qing dynasty
tiantou and ditou, is modelled after the mounting of painting © Collection of National Palace Museum, Taipei
and calligraphy scrolls. Painting and calligraphy differ from
the vast majority of pictorial tapestries in notable ways. In bearing a large shou character at the National Palace Museum,
the latter, the centrepiece is made from paper or silk, and Taipei, measuring 208 by 132.6 cm (see Huang Nengfu, ed.,
medallions from different materials, such as silk. These Zhongguo meishu quanji: Yin ran zhi xiu [Complete series on
are mounted and then combined in two or more different Chinese art: printing, dyeing, weaving and embroidery], vol.
procedures. The present work, however, does not consist of 2, Beijing, 1987, p. 164, fig. 1). Zhu Qiling, in Qing neifu cang
multiple individually mounted parts, but is instead an integral kesi shuhua lu [Kesi paintings and calligraphy from the Qing
tapestry woven together. In other words, this kesi scroll court collection], records a total of 489 kesi works modelled
reproduces not only the appearance of painting and calligraphy after painting and calligraphy. Among them only two feature
scrolls but also their mounting methods. This is so subtle as the shou character. The first is a hanging screen, and the
to be easily missed. An immense technical feat involving an second is the aforementioned work in Taipei (see Zhu Qiling,
enormous expenditure of time, labour, and material resources, ‘Qing neifu cang kesi shuhua lu’, Huang Binhong and Deng Shi,
it is possible only for an imperial commission. It is also eds, Meishu congshu [Compendium of art], Shanghai, 1936,
evidence of the sophistication of kesi and their status as prized 4th edition, 1947, part 4, book 1, vol. 1, pp. 80, 82). For these
objects during the Qing dynasty. reasons, the present work on offer is very precious, combining
calligraphy and kesi in a seamless and virtuosic manner.
Moreover, at 322 by 147 cm, the present work is monumental. Alongside the Taipei kesi scroll, it bears witness to the richness
Following the height of the Song Dynasty, the art of kesi and sophistication of Qianlong-period kesi art.
reached a peak during the mid- and late-Qianlong period,
reflecting the strength of the Qing empire. Only during this Among the five imperial seals impressed on the present work,
period did monumental kesi tapestries appear, including the one reading Wufu wudaitang Guxi Tianzi bao was made
the following: a Qianlong-period nine-panel tongjing screen after 1784, when the 74-year-old Qianlong had a great-great-
measuring 416 by 140 cm and currently in the Palace great grandson. By the year 1787, Qianlong had made plaques
Museum, Beijing; a kesi tapestry depicting Laozi and a reading Wufu wudai tang and the aforementioned seal to
calf, measuring 329 by 137 cm; a kesi tapestry depicting celebrate and commemorate having ‘five generations in the
Shakyamuni bearing an inscription by Qianlong, measuring same hall.’ He also wrote the essay Wufu wudai tang ji. In it he
206 by 86 cm; a tapestry depicting the auspicious rebus wrote that having ‘five generations in the same hall’ was a rare
sanduo youqing, measuring 32 by 417 cm; a kesi tapestry auspicious omen throughout time and across cultures, and
after Qiu Ying’s painting of the Ode to Red Cliff, measuring that his unusual good fortune was due to his devotion to his
30 by 498 cm; a kesi tapestry of Qianlong’s calligraphy of subjects and diligence in his duties. He also expressed the wish
Shiquan Laoren zhi baoshuo, measuring 30 by 281 cm; a kesi that his descendants would remember his teaching and be
tapestry of Qianlong’s calligraphy of Lama shuo, measuring diligent and conscientious, so as to ensure his lineage’s good
35 by 444 cm; a kesi tapestry of calligraphy of Jiedetang fortune and the continual mandate of the Qing dynasty.
qianhou ji, measuring 32 by 300 cm; a kesi tapestry scroll with
embroidery of Jiuyang xiaohan tu, measuring 212 by 112 cm; a
kesi tapestry with embroidery depicting the Three Star Gods,
measuring 412 by 135 cm, in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei; a Qianlong-period kesi triptych depicting the Buddhas
of the Three Ages, measuring 300 by 150 cm, at the Palace
of Fontainebleau, Paris; a kesi tapestry scroll with embroidery
depicting the Three Star Gods, measuring 220 by 86 cm,
at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Qianlong-period
Imperial Compilation of the Lanting Xu Imperial Collection of
Documents woven in kesi, offered in these rooms on 8 October
2008 and measuring 1714.5 cm in length, is the longest known
premodern kesi work and of exceeding rarity. The above are all
outstanding examples of Qing-dynasty monumental kesi and
reflect the breath-taking sophistication of Qianlong-period kesi.

The present work’s monumental size, virtuosic execution, and
refinement make it another prime artifact of the Qing golden
age of kesi art. Moreover, kesi tapestries representing the
shou character are exceedingly rare, and such fine examples
even rarer. The only extant comparable work is a kesi scroll

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