Chinese Coromandel Lacquer and Hardstone Inlaid Four Panel Screen, late 19th/Early 20th century

A very fine Chinese lacquer four panel screen. To one side there is a temple and garden landscape peopled with court figures. This has been painted with gold and inlaid with hard stones. The faces are ivory for which there is a standard Ivory Act exemption certificate (less than 10% of item is ivory). To the other side there is a painted flower and bird scene including a peacock, stork, a pair of mandarin ducks and chrysanthemum flowers.

In good condition.

Coromandel is a coastal region in the southeast of India. It was originally thought that these screens came from India, but in fact they come from southern China. Today the term has become shorthand for the technique used to create them: the application of lacquer, in even layers, over a softwood core. Once the lacquer has been applied designs are carved into the screen’s surface, and the recesses are filled in with coloured pigments and stones to create continuous scenes.

First imported into Europe in the 17th century by the Dutch East Indies Company, they were particularly popular amongst the English in the decades around 1700. The revival in the 1880s in British taste for all things Chinese and Japanese saw a return in popularity. By the 20th century screens were again being manufactured in China, and imported via Hong Kong.