A coromandel lacquer eight-leaf 'Palace Ladies' screen


Cyclically dated to the Gengwu year corresponding to AD1670 and of the periodSkillfully decorated on the front with a detailed scene of court ladies within a palatial landscape engaged in various leisurely pursuits, all above the 'Hundred Antiques', the reverse depicting numerous birds including egrets, crane, pheasants and mandarin ducks all beside blossoming peonies and trees. 335.6cm (140in) wide x 211.4cm (83 1/4in) high. (8).
|清康熙庚戌年間（1670年） 褐漆彩繪樓閣園遊圖八開屏風Provenance: a Spanish private collection來源：西班牙私人收藏Palace scenes with ladies of the court were popular in the late Ming and early Qing periods. According to W.De Kesel and G.Dhont, these screens of palaces and ladies were often based on a frequently-reproduced painting by Qiu Ying (1494-1552) known as 'Spring Morning in the Han Palace'. See W.De Kesel and G.Dhont, Coromandel: Lacquer Screens, 2002, Gent, pp.48-49.The popularity of scenes with predominantly female figures engaging in various activities including the 'Four Arts of the Scholar' may reflect changing models of feminine identity by the late Ming and early Qing dynasties; ladies in terms of cultural refinement, may have been considered almost equal to male literati. Similar twelve-leaf screens, Kangxi, are illustrated by W.De Kesel and G.Dhont, Ibid., pp.23,31, and 36.