Page 51 - Fine Asian Works of Art December 19, 2016, SF
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PROPERTY FROM A MONTEREY PRIVATE COLLECTION
8053W However, there are several examples of Guangdong Embroidery in
A HARDWOOD SCREEN MOUNTED WITH GUANGDONG the Qing palace collection dated to the 18th century and clearly made
EMBROIDERY SILK PANELS for imperial use rather than foreign commercial sale. One example
Late Qing/Republic period dated to the Qianlong period is in Shan Guoqiang, ed, Zhixiu Shuhua:
Comprised of eleven panels bordered by inlaid mother-of-pearl Eight Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Wenwu Zhenpin Quanji [Embroidered
Immortal emblems framing reticulated scroll work of shou medallion, Pictures: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum]
auspicious bat, and fruit basket motifs backed by mirrors, all (Hong Kong: The Commercial Press, 2005), 50-51, no 20.
surrounding the continuous and intricately rendered landscape tableau
of the Eight immortals and Shoulao stitched upon a cream-hued There are signs that the present lot could indeed possibly have
ground in threads of understated greens, periwinkle, and burnt umber, been one of these imperially commissioned examples, as the
the largest central panel reversed by an incised maker's mark reading swash-buckling raconteur Roy Chapman Andrews reputedly always
Guangdong Caiyuan; together with a custom-made wooden plinth for maintained. First of all, the imposing size, breathtaking intricacy and
display. more unusual subject matter would seem more geared to a domestic
65 3/4in (167cm) height exclusive of plinth Chinese audience as opposed to the much more common (and
easier to transport) Guangdong embroidered One Hundred Birds
US$10,000 - 15,000 table screens usually seen at auction. Also notable is the inscription
reversing the Shoulao panel reading Guangdong Caiyuan. A table
Provenance screen in the Palace Collection dated as 'Qing dynasty' is reversed by
Acquired by Roy Chapman Andrews (1884-1960) a label from this same Caiyuan textile factory (Shan, ibid, 56-57, no
Thereupon a Private Monterey Collection since at least 1957 25). The lengthy inscription on that published example (which Shan
calls 'of advertisement quality [Guanggao xingzhi]') describes in detail
Among the varied types of Chinese needlework, Guangdong the panoply of high quality embroidered products the Caiyuan ateliers
embroidery (Yuexiu/Guangxiu) is characterized by a more subdued presented to the court-- including notably landscape and figure panels
color palette of threads utilized in a dazzling variety of stitching like the present lot. The label concludes by admonishing the discerning
techniques. A high percentage of these pieces were manufactured client to beware of fakes and accept no substitutes.
in the late 19th century and afterwards for export to the west as the
economy of the Pearl River delta started to gear itself towards foreign
trade. For a more in-depth overview of this type of textile see Li Yulai
and Li Yufang, Ming Qing Xiupin [Embroideries of Ming and Qing
Dynasties] (Shanghai: Donghua Daxue Chuban She, 2012), 73-83.
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