A rare documentary eight-leaf carved lacquer screen. Kangxi cyclical date jiawu corresponding to AD1714 and of the period. Photo Bonhams

The front sides shallow relief-carved with a single scene of a dignitary in his hall entertained by two dancing ladies and surrounded by female attendants, set on a gold-ground terrace with further figures and two cranes, flanked by two smaller dwellings with scholars playing chess, all within a wide border with scholarly vessels on three sides and exotic animals at the bottom, the reverse carved with two large cranes painted in white and red, amidst pines, prunus and rockwork, and an inscription on the left side. Each panel 210cm high x 40cm wide (82¾in high x 15¾in wide) (8). Estimate: £60,000 - 80,000, CNY 590,000 - 790,000, HK$ 720,000 - 970,000

Note: The inscription contains the following couplet from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Xu Hun (circa AD790 - circa AD858):

百花開處松千尺
衆鳥喧時鶴一聲

which can be translated as:

'Amongst the hundred blooming flowers stands the pine tree a thousand feet high,
Amongst all the chattering birds the crane makes a clear sound.'

The screen thus uses both painting and poetry elegantly to illustrate the concept of the dignitary as a towering figure and clear voice of authority at his own court.

A further link to Tang history can be seen in the hall named on the screen as Fen yang wang fu, which refers to the hall given by the grateful Tang Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) to his general Guo Ziyi (697-781) after he pacified a rebellion. This story became a well-known source of pride for the Guo family, and it is interesting to note that this screen itself carries a dedication by a member of this family, Guo Bingzhang.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 10 Nov 2011, New Bond Street www.bonhams.com