Beschreibung:

Lot details China, 1644-1912. Of square form, composed of four rectangular panels, finely carved with nine Buddhist lions, mostly in groups of two where one is larger than the other (taishi shaoshi), amid trees and rockwork, enclosed by an octagonal border surrounded by a band of auspicious and Buddhist symbols, including peaches, a vase with flowering prunus, a horn with chrysanthemums, a parasol, a double gourd, a Dharma wheel and flywhisk, an endless knot, and a dragon head. The four corners of the panel each with a bat amid scrolling clouds. (4) Provenance: French private collection. Acquired in the Swiss market. Condition: Good condition with old wear, chips, losses. Minor old repairs, fills and touchups here and there. One panel was broken in two parts and is now backed by an additional wood frame for stabilization. Overall displaying remarkably well. Dimensions: Size 227 x 228 cm The present panel carries an important auspicious meaning: A large Buddhist lion (dashi) and his small counterpart (xiaoshi) shown together form the rebus ‘may you and your descendants achieve high rank’ (taishi shaoshi). During the Western Zhou dynasty, taishi was the highest military rank of the period. During the Warring States, the Kingdom of Chu established the rank of shaoshi, which represents the tutor to the prince. Mount Song, one of China’s sacred Daoist mountains, is divided into the Taishi and the Shaoshi Mountain. Lions are not native to China, and although live animals were brought to the Chinese court by foreign embassies since at least the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), they were always exotic rarities. In India, the lion is intimately associated with Buddhism, considered a symbol of strength and protector of the Dharma, the Buddhist law, and with the growing popularity of the Buddhist religion during the Tang dynasty (618-907), pairs of lion figures were increasingly placed in front of Buddhist temple gates as guardian animals. The Yongle Emperor’s international diplomacy efforts brought China once more in direct contact with foreign lands, their animals, plants and other exotica in the early Ming dynasty. The court welcomed foreign embassies and the Muslim seafarer and diplomat, Court Eunuch Zheng He (c. 1371-1435), embarked on seven extensive maritime expeditions to ports throughout Asia and as far as Africa, which continued into the Xuande reign. At this time, lions were apparently so little known in China that Ma Huan (c. 1380-1460), Zheng He’s Muslim interpreter who accompanied him on three voyages, left us a contemporary account describing them in detail: “The lion has a body which resembles a tiger’s in shape; it is a dark-yellow color, without stripes; it has a large head and a broad mouth; the tail tapers to a point, which has a lot of hair, black and long, like a tassel; the noise of its roar is like thunder. All the beasts, when they see it, fall down and dare not rise; it is indeed the king among the beasts” (J.V.G. Mills, ed., Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng-lan. The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores [1433], Hakluyt Society, London, 1970, reprint Bangkok 1997, p. 158-159). Although lions were among the exotic animals that had been brought to China already by some Timurid embassies, and on occasion were received as tribute by Zheng He’s delegation, they were rare and desirable enough to be specially purchased on these voyages and be brought back to the court: during the sixth expedition in the Yongle reign, for example, when in 1421 the ships stopped in Aden (ibid., p. 50 and 159), and during the seventh voyage in the Xuande reign, when in 1431 a division of the fleet went to Mecca, where it had, among other things, brought porcelain items as gifts (ibid., p. 51 and 178). 清代金漆木雕太獅少獅掛屏 中國，1644-1912年。方形，由四塊長方形板組成，精心雕刻九隻獅子，多為一組兩隻，一大一小，太獅少獅，在樹木和山岩之間，或是戲珠，或是捉迷藏，或是相互嬉戲；四角如意蝙蝠紋，中央成六角形，邊界之間飾佛教八寶紋如寶瓶、寶蓋、寶瓶、葫蘆、螺、吉祥結、幢、法輪以及龍頭。多層次鏤空的立體設計，層層疊疊，玲瓏剔透。 來源：法國私人收藏，購於瑞士古玩市場。 品相：狀況良好，有舊磨損、磕損、缺損；局部有輕微的維修、填充和修飾。 一塊面板被分成兩部分，現在由一塊額外的木框架支撐以保持穩定。