Kejserligt praktskåp, Hongmu, Qingdynastin, 1800-tal.
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Rektangulär form med en mittsektion med två dörrar som båda har en djupt skuren dekor av två ringlande drakar som jagar den flammande pärlan ovan klippformationer och vilda vågor. Under ytterligare två paneler med parställda drakar som möts vid den flammande pärlan, den nedre panelen även den med klippformation och vilda skummande vågor. Höjd 200 cm. Bredd 177 cm. Djup 71 cm.
Skåpet har haft en överdel som kommit ifrån den. Lösa delar medöljer således utöver skåp, två fronter, en mittpanel, två sidopaneler. 1 hänglås. Mått dörrpar vardera 83x76 cm, mittsektion Mitt 84x5,8 cm. Mått två paneler vardera 85,5x60 cm.
Låsen dekorerade med en blomsterslinga och med inskriptionen 狀元及第 som kan tydas till högsta graden av examination (för Hanlin Academin). Längd lås 22 cm.
Torksprickor, skador.
Proveniens
Purchased at Kronowall Castle auction in 1988, Bukowskis. Lot no 98 . Depicted in the catalgoue.
The cabinet came to Kronovall Castle from the Estate of Claire Emilia Dupas and Louis Marie Francois Xavier Cazeau, a prominent businessman, french diplomat and for a time serving as the equivalent of Mayor of Paris. Their daughter Marie Germain Cazeau (born 1898) married Count Eskil Sigge Leon Sparre af Söfdeborg (1893- 1975). The contents of the parents home in Paris and their estate in Nizza were shipped to Kronovall and used to decorate the castle. Louis Marie Fancois Xavier Cazeau was a friend of the Swedish King.
Utställningar
Black and white image shows cabinets of this type in the Forbidden City, Tai he dian (Hall of Supreme Harmony). Image taken by Osvald Siren in 1922.
Litteratur
The present compound cabinet, with its impressive carving of the ‘dragons chasing flaming pearls’ motif illustrates the procurement of the exquisite on Imperial command. The different components that complete this magnificent (originally over three metres high and close to 2 metres wide) piece of furniture has been separated but can be re-united in their original form. The side panels and front still exists. Furnishings of this type, in particular those that employed images of the dragon, were conceived to elevate Imperial presence and power. Such a tour de force object could most possibly have been designed and crafted by skilled artisans employed by the Muzuo 木作 or Wood Workshop, one of the Palace Workshops (Zaobanchu 造辦處) that operated under the command of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu 內務府) of the Qing court.
The cabinet with its pictorial composition of in total when complet 10 pairs of sinuous dragons, each pair chasing a flaming pearl amongst auspicious ruyi 如意 form clouds above turbulent waves interspersed with bajixiang 八吉祥 symbols and floral sprays, may appear familiar from a number of examples from the 18th century. A well known Imperial piece is a zitan cabinet of different structure but also decorated with the theme of dragons chasing flaming pearls amongst clouds, pictured in situ in the bedroom behind the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Dian 養心殿) and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 249 (Fig. 1). The cabinet was built to fit the hall which became the main residence of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722 - 1735) and was used by his successors subsequently. While the Yangxin Dian cabinet is also the product of the Wood Workshop, there is noticeable stylistic variation in the depiction of the dragons and in the emphasis of the compositions that reflect the evolving artistic styles and preferences of their respective periods.
We can only speculate how and where the present cabinet was deployed. But perhaps the lock and its inscription gives us a clue.
Övrig information
The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution of higher learning founded in the 8th century Tang China by Emperor Xuanzong in Chang'an. It has also been translated as "College of Literature" and "Academy of the Forest of Pencils."
Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its primary duties was to decide on an interpretation of the Chinese classics. This formed the basis of the Imperial examinations, which aspiring government bureaucrats had to pass to attain higher-level government posts.
Famous member of the Hanlin academys are poets, diplomats, scholars and high ranking officials.