Twelve-Panel Screen

Currently not on view

Twelve-Panel Screen

Late 18th - early 19th century

Artist/maker unknown, Chinese

The ladies in these palace scenes are engaged in pursuits such as looking at antiquities, enjoying plum blossoms in winter, gazing at the moon during the Moon Festival, reading books, dressing hair in the fall, sipping cool soup in the summer, drinking tea, and raising birds and rabbits. Both end panels feature the "Hundred Antiquities," a decorative motif that includes archaic bronzes and other objects popular for a Chinese scholar's study. The feminine scenes and the auspicious creatures with their young on the lower portions of the panels all suggest that this screen was intended for a woman's quarters.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Twelve-Panel Screen

Date:

Late 18th - early 19th century

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Chinese

Medium:

Color, gilding, and ivory on silk; wood, lacquer, and gilt frame; mounted as a twelve-fold screen

Dimensions:

Each panel: 57 × 11 3/4 × 7/8 inches (144.8 × 29.8 × 2.2 cm)

Classification:

Furniture/Furnishings

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. Elizabeth K. Van Alen, 1978

Accession Number:

1978-43-1a--l

Geography:

Made in China, Asia

Context:

Dynasty: Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

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Currently not on view