Chinese Coromandel Lacquer Screen dated 1693

An exceptionally rare and beautiful late 17th century  Chinese coromandel lacquer screen. Finely carved and vibrantly decorated on one side with four independent scenes of figures gathering, dancing and engaged in leisurely pursuits on terraced pavillions, all on a gilt ground, above smaller panels painted with figures within landscapes; the reverse carved with a lengthy gilt-filled dedicatory inscription including a cyclical date of 1693, above further small panels painted with landscapes.

The second panel from the left says the date of inscription is the 11th month of the 32nd
year of Kangxi’s reign (1693). The author of the inscription is Zha Zhikai, a martial official in
Guangdong. The purpose of the inscription is to celebrate the birthday of an old official.

it is rare to find coromandel screens of this period decorated on a gilt ground rather than the usual black ground. Also unusual for screens of this type, each panel depicts an individual scene rather than the scene flowing across all panels, this means that the panels could easily be separated and hung individually on the wall or incorporated into wall panelling to form a so-called Coromandel Lacquer cabinet, such as those at Schloss Nymphenburg, Hermitage in Bayreuth, or the room originally from the Stadholder’s court in Leeuwarden, now in the Rijksmuseum