Page 104 - Bonhams Asian Art London November 5, 2020

Lot 96 in-situ with the family, circa 1950s

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 紳士藏品 Although the term ‘Coromandel’, referring to a section of the east
coast of India, implies that these screens were typically made for
the export market (European traders misunderstood the origin of
96 TP these screens), the present lot was almost certainly made for the
A RARE EIGHT-LEAF DOUBLE-SIDED ‘COROMANDEL’ ‘BOYS domestic market in China. The motif of ‘One hundred boys’ or ‘boys
AT PLAY’ LACQUER SCREEN at play’ is a popular motif in Chinese art and encapsulates the good
Kangxi Confucian wish for numerous descendants to continue worshipping
Exquisitely decorated on the front with a detailed scene of fifty boys at the ancestors.
play within a garden setting, each engaged in various leisurely activities
such as waving dragon banners, riding a hobby-horse, playing with The ‘one hundred boys’ motif is perhaps based on the legend of King
dogs or playing kickball, all framed by a border of various floral sprays Wen of Zhou who supposedly fathered 99 sons from his 24 wives, and
and the ‘Hundred Antiques’, the reverse with numerous cartouches adopted an orphan boy to accomplish 100. The figure of 100 should
containing typical subjects of literati painting such as birds and flowers not be taken literally, but indicates a large number. The motif was
and mountainous landscapes with figures. already found on stone carvings of the Han dynasty and in paintings
Each leaf 230cm (90 1/2in) high x 42cm (16 1/2in) wide (8). of the Jin (265-420) and Tang (618-906) dynasties. It became popular
in the Song dynasty with painters such as Su Hanchen (1127-1189)
£20,000 - 30,000 and Li Song (1166-1243) but it was most widely seen in the Ming
CNY180,000 - 260,000 and Qing periods, notably on ceramics, textiles or lacquer. Compare
for example, the painting of children on a blue and white jar, Jiajing
清康熙 款彩嬰戲圖雙面八開圍屏 six-character mark and of the period, illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue and White
Provenance: a distinguished English private collection, acquired prior Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, no.101. The
to the 1950s, and thence by descent treatment of the boys in the present lot owes much to the Ming style of
depicting boys, and would indicate a late 17th century date.
來源：英國顯赫私人收藏，購於二十世紀五十年代，並由後人保存迄今
Compare with two twelve-leaf coromandel screens, Kangxi, with
similar motifs of ‘boys at play’ illustrated by W.De Kesel and G.Dhont,
Coromandel Lacquer Screens, Ghent, 2002, pp.54, 56-57.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
102 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.