PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
A LARGE 'SHOULAO AND DEER' SILK EMBROIDERY, LATE MING / EARLY QING DYNASTY
Auction Closed
September 23, 08:35 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A LARGE 'SHOULAO AND DEER' SILK EMBROIDERY
LATE MING / EARLY QING DYNASTY
明末 / 清初 刺繡祿壽雙全圖掛屏
embroidered in shades of gold, blue, pale green and orange accentuated with couched gold threads, the immortal with twinkling eyes and a pleasant smile, the face padded to emphasize the cranial bump, cheeks, and nose, his hands and long fingernails cradling a large ripe peach with a gnarled staff suspending a scroll tucked between his arm and chest, dressed in a voluminous robe decorated with emblems of longevity including cranes and shou characters, a double-gourd and lingzhi dangling from the robe, a spotted deer carrying further peaches on its back looking up at the figure, framed
Height 55 in., 139.7 cm; Width 29¾ in., 141.6 cm
Acquired in China circa early 20th century, and thence by descent.
來源
約二十世紀初得於中國，此後家族傳承
The use of padding to model Shoulao's face in relief is a relatively rare technique amongst panels of this type. Highlighting his pronounced forehead, cranial bump, smiling cheeks, and rounded nose, the modeling adds to the figure's charm and character, drawing attention against the rest of the flattened ground.
For silk hangings with Shoulao depicted with a similar expression and beard, compare a Ming dynasty example with the immortal atop a crane, included in Special Exhibition of Embroidery, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1992, cat. no. 11, and a late 17th-early 18th century silk hanging of the Three Star Gods in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. no. 1977.263. See also an embroidered hanging scroll of Shoulao with a deer, attributed to the 17th/18th century, sold at Christie's New York, 15th-16th January 2008, lot 773, and another panel attributed to the Qing dynasty, sold in these rooms, 19th September 2002, lot 203.