Lot 12. An extremely rare huanghuali twelve-leaf screen, Late Ming dynasty; each 61 by 3 by h. 306 cm, 24 by 1 ¼ by h. 120 ½ in.; overall width 729 cm, 287 in. Estimate: 5,000,000 - 7,000,000 HKD. Unsold. Courtesy Sotheby's.

comprising ten main leaves flanked by a pair of leaves uniting to form an openwork frame, each of the central leaves carved through with a rectangular panel and accentuated with three openwork cartouches, one above the hollow panel and two below, the upper one with a central lobed cartouche reticulated with stylised chilong rendered in the form of scrollwork and flanking a fu character, the motif of the mythical beasts repeated on the lower section, with two openwork lobed cartouches skilfully decorated with stylised chilong, the lower one further accentuated with a shou character, all above a beaded-edged apron detailed in low relief with chilong divided by the central ruyi motif.

Provenance : Christie's Hong Kong, 31st October 1994, lot 419

Note: This magnificent screen would have stood in a grand hall to create a striking backdrop for a formal reception or official event. Deftly carved with an intricate motif of chilong and auspicious characters, this screen demonstrates the bold creativity of woodcarvers working in the 17th century. While the chilong seen on these panels were inspired by archaism, their vigorous and dynamic rendering on this piece is unusual. The folding screen served multiple functions: it divided a room concealing areas and objects that were not supposed to be displayed, and provided a hiding place for ladies, who could peek at important visitors through the openwork carving. When mounted with paintings by a famous artist or lines from a favourite poem, both of which were viewed and read from right to left as a traditional Chinese book, it heightened their importance and showcased the sophisticated taste of the master of the house. Such monumental screens were made only for the wealthiest aristocratic families, and are thus very rare.

Multi-panelled screens have a long history in China, developing from single-panelled screens made as early as the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and becoming popular from the Northern Wei dynasty (AD 386-534). These early screens, which were relatively short, framed a platform where high-ranking individuals sat or enclosed a canopy bed to provide privacy. They thus had both an honorific and protective function. Screens gradually become larger and the most impressive examples were made in the Ming and Qing dynasties. While they often appear on woodblock printed books of the period, extant examples are rare.

A very small number of screens of this type has survived: a twelve-panelled screen mounted with a set of landscape paintings, in the collection of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, now in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, is illustrated in Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classic Chinese Furniture, Minneapolis, 1999, pl. 54; a screen in the former Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in California, is illustrated in Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classic Chinese Furniture, San Francisco, 1995, pl. 73, and was later sold at Christie’s New York, 19th September 1996, lot 107; and another was sold at Christie’s New York, 16th September 1999, lot 106