Chinese Screen

[alenehan]

An unusual object and I think quite old. The panels are made from painted marble. One side seems to be a nobleman's house with smaller pictures of musicians and courtiers. The reverse are tranquil scenes of mountains. Can anybody help me find out more information about these screens and how they were used?

Thank you all,

Alex

[shibo77]

I'm not sure about the translation, but that is a Chinese style folding screen (屏风). Originally during the Han dynasty they were used to block winds from entering the room. Later, they were used to divide the room into smaller "cubicles". For exmaple, change clothing or take a bath behind it, and also it is an elegant piece of furniture addition to the room. From the small paintings it looks like they're in pre-Qing dynasty costumes, I guess it is late Ming, 16-17th century. 8-panel, with marble, so I guess it is quite expensive and the wood should be real rosewood and not fake like most are. I think if you can show more of the red seals, they should tell us about the calligrapher/painter.

-Shibo

[alenehan]

Thanks Shibo! :D

The red seals are every hard to photograph as they are quite worn. It is the same pair on every panel with calligraphy so I have picked the best of each and tried to enhance them. I hope this helps, and thanks again,

Alex

[shibo77]

The top and bottom seals probably say 玉石yùshí and 山峰shānfēng respectively, collectively 玉石山峰. I searched on google: 蜂桶寨自然保护区Fengtongzhai Natural Reserve near 四川Sichuan province 雅安Ya'an prefecture 宝兴Baoxing village, 80 kilometres from Ya'an city, there is a 锅巴岩Guobayan, where a type of white marble called "宝兴白Baoxing White" are mined. Perhaps that is the marble used on your wooden screen, and the seals merely pointing out where the marble was mined?

-Shibo

[alenehan]

Thanks Shibo, this is so helpful for my research. I must admit there are some gaps in my Chinese history but was yushi also a rank (censor?) in Chinese government or is this a different version of the word?

Alex