This showstopping six-panel folding screen is expertly crafted in the Chinoiserie style of the 20th century with a low relief design known as coromandel lacquer. Named after European trade routes that ran along the Coromandel coast, coromandel lacquer features a decorative technique known as “incised colors” (kuan cai). Traditionally, the wood base would be coated with many layers of dark lacquer and given a high polish. Once the lacquer had hardened, intricate designs were carved into the surface and the recesses filled in with colored pigments to create vibrant scenes.
This coromandel lacquer screen is incised with colorful scenery depicting idyllic courtly life in a palace complex. Finely dressed ladies and their female attendants stroll throughout a grand enclosed courtyard of elaborate pavilions and low railings. Some engage in esteemed activities of the refined mind, such as practicing calligraphy or admiring scrolls, while others relax and enjoy themselves by playing games, watching a dance, or observing the mountainous scenery. Swirling clouds float overhead and lotus blossoms dot the waters below. The scenery is enclosed by a border of floral scrollwork, stylized to resemble powerful dragons. At the bottom of each panel is an array of precious objects, including bronze censers, jade carvings, burlwood brush pots, and enameled porcelain.
The back of the screen has a more minimal design, each panel decorated with two bird-and-flower pairings. Set within the confines of the vertical panel, the scenes are reminiscent of a collection of painted hanging scrolls. Alternating hinges allow the six-panel screen to be displayed free-standing as a room divider, or laid flat along a wall as an artwork.
Minor chips to lacquer throughout. Repair to cosmetic damages to leftmost panel on back side.
Additional Dimensions:
Individual Panel: 16"W x 0.75"D x 83.75"H
