This delightful object imitates a screen for a grand home’s main hall. Five ivory panels, each depicting classical landscapes, have poetry and the carver’s signature. Miniscule essays—legible only under high magnification—are carved on the upper registers. The center one is by Tang dynasty poet and philosopher Han Yu (768–824), “On Ministers Offering Forthright Admonition.” Thus the subjects are solemn and scholarly, even though rendered in a playful size.
Teak and ivory
22 1/2 × 23 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (57.2 × 59.7 × 14 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
35.617
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Not currently on view
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Pure Amusements: Wealth, Leisure, and Culture in Late Imperial China, Dec. 24, 2016 - May 15, 2022.
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