Screen Coromandel Lacquer 8 Leaves

Screen 8 leaves, coromandel lacquer, with on one side, several animated scenes of characters representing daily life in China, and on the other, a large mountain landscape. Several decorations in the top and bottom of foliage and birds. The lacquers of "Coromandel" inherited a name that had been falsely attributed to them by European merchants. It is a misunderstanding that has finally blurred the tracks concerning the provenance of these. Coromandel is a part of the southeast coast between the Godava River and Nagapatnam in India. In the seventeenth century, the trade and import of furniture from China to Europe was by sea. The objects passed through Coromandel, which made it a vital relay point for the trade. So many people thought that the objects arriving from Coromandel were really made in Coromandel. The manufacturing technique involves engraving a pattern in the lacquer layer previously applied to a wooden core of about 1 cm coated with linen or hemp and pork blood, which reveals a neutral background. The latter is then coated with a layer of colored lacquer. This technique is known in China since the sixteenth century - first for the domestic market, it is called "kuan cai" 款 彩, cut and colored lacquer. The main production centers were in the southern provinces, including Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong. 18th century (per sheet): Height: 148 cm Width: 33 cm Total width: 264 cm