Unknown
Chinese, Qing Dynasty

Coromandel Screen: Spring in the Han Palace, 17th c. CE, late
wood and clay core covered with lacquer, carved and filled with polychrome, twelve-panel screen
110 × 22 in.

SBMA, Gift of Molly Dolle in memory of her daughter Molly O”Daniel Danielson
1998.60

RESEARCH PAPER

General Introduction: The Stories Conveyed by the SBMA Coromandel Screen

The SBMA 12 panel screen “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” is among the finest examples of Chinese Coromandel Lacquer screens produced by the artisans of court of K’ang-xi, the second Emperor of the Q’ing Dynasty (1662-1722). It is a double sided screen: on one side the SBMA titled: “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” is the main image. On the other side, the predominant image is a classical portrayal of “Shou Shan: Taoist Paradise.”

Though it was made in the Q’ing Dynasty (1644-1911), the colorfulness and variety of religious and historic images and symbols instead suggest the aesthetics and culture of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Consistent with the translation of the word Ming, meaning “bright,” the period was the time when a variety of bold colors dominated the aesthetics. This Dynasty was also a time when a wide variety but seemingly contradictory ideas of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism co-existed. It was noble to be a scholar and to be familiar with many ideas.

The rare eggplant color of the background lacquer; the ground jade added to the paints to represent the mountains; the distinctive painting of each figure; and the way the whole image is composed so that many separate stories are woven together to read as one, are some of unique characteristics that confirm this assessment. (To find out more about these attributes and how the screen was made please see the Postscript below.)

As the black writing of the inscription on the far right panel reports, this screen was created by Mr. Song to be presented to Mr. Liu on the occasion of his 70th birthday. In Chinese tradition, if you have lived 5 times through the 12 zodiac years or to age 60, you would be considered very wise and even near immortal: by 70 you are indeed immortal. To have this ready for the occasion, Mr. Song would have to have commissioned the highest skilled artisans several years in advance. (Note: the symbol of the 4 toed dragon had originally connoted that it was done for a noble or court official; 5 toes reserved for the emperor and three a common person ). Mr. Liu must have been someone very important.

But with all the richness and complexity of the imagery, the screen represents the magnitude of the compliment that Mr. Song was paying to Mr. Liu. In true Chinese tradition, with as few words as possible, Mr. Song would have presented the gift to Mr. Liu. As Mr. Liu looked at this great gift: explored the richness of stories and references to Taoism and other historical, cultural and intellectual traditions that are recorded on it, he would have understood the incredible compliment that was being paid to him for his vast knowledge and refined tastes.

Furthermore, as it was used to divide the public reception area from the private chambers, each night as Mr. Liu walked around the screen he would pass around the screen, leaving behind the world of mortals in the “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” side and, by virtue of reviewing the imagery on the other side, he would magically enter into the “Shou Shan: Land of the Immortals.” In this way almost becoming immortal himself.

SIDE ONE STORY: Spring Morning in the Han Palace

“Spring Morning in the Han Palace” is an imaginary representation of what it was believed to be like in the woman’s quarters of a Han Dynasty Palace on a spring morning. It reflects the revival of interest in the arts and culture from this earlier Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) when the first great literary works were published, when all that is fine in the Chinese arts began.

This image of “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” was first painted on hand scrolls in the Tang Dynasty and is said to have been the theme of one of Li Gonglin’s most famous but lost paintings from the Song Dynasty. Sometimes more, and sometimes less, complex versions of this same story can be found on other Ming Period screens since the image was typically used to celebrate high court officials on the occasion of their retirement.

The scene represents a place where the “clouds of misfortune and sadness” are put aside; and is modeled after the beautiful palaces built along the lakes and canals in Hangzhou. The palaces in Hangzhou were used by city or military court officials to retreat from the rigors of administrative life in order to renew the cultural and spiritual sides of their lives.

It is recorded that early morning light on West Lake in Hangzhou was particularly favored by the K’ang-Xi emperor and even as Marco Polo in the 1300’s, is recorded for admiring Hangzhou as “the Most Splendid and Luxurious City in the World.”

The image also makes literary reference to the classical Chinese story from The Dream of the Red Mansions in which an immortal – in the form of jade stone - longs to see what it is like to live as a mortal. So like mortal children, he is born into the woman’s quarters. The women’s quarters were considered private and sacred places even until the Q’ing times; men of the court were never allowed. However, with the image tilted forward in a bird’s eye perspective, in the SBMA screen we, like Mr. Liu, are allowed to enter this forbidden place, just as the “immortal” did.

In this beautiful palace, surrounded by lakes and lush gardens, we see the dancers entertaining the Empress. All of the concubines of the great Emperor Yuan-Ti (48-33 BCE) are there. With the gate slightly ajar in the far right panels, we are encouraged to enter, see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the sweet spring blossoms. As our eyes move across the screen from right to left, it is as if we are moving from morning to night, witnessing the various activities that might occur in the women's quarters throughout the day.

There are over 120 small figures in the screen. Some are engaged in the leisure pursuits associated with the literati such as dance, music, calligraphy and painting. Other women are folding the silk or playing games of chess or just having a conversation. Still others make reference to very subtle mores of the culture. In the 3rd panel from the left, as we move toward nighttime, there is a woman fixing her hair. In Chinese culture, touching one’s hair was and is still considered a very seductive act. The representation of these activities is more than just a story of sights and sounds, but in fact is a reference to the great arts that have distinguished China since that first great cultural period of the Han Dynasty.

But the images of this screen, while done in the Ming Dynasty style, also mange to reflect the influences of Western culture on the Arts in the Q'ing Dynasty. Starting in this period, there was increasing interest in the scientific study of plants and their habitats. So in the 12 small frames across the top of the “Spring Morning in the Han Palace” side of the screen, we see 6 flowering plants on the left paired with panels just to the right of them portraying their ecological habitats.

But with a duality of meanings, so commonly employed in Chinese literary references, these six flowers also have had symbolic meaning to the Chinese since Han times. They represent the six phases of a woman’s life. Starting in the left panel, the plum blossom connotes the very young child. Then, as she matures the “magnolia stellata” symbolizes her early childhood, the “camellia” the simple beauty of her teenage/early adult years, the “peony” the full rich beauty of her womanliness, the “chrysanthemum” the depth of her maturity, and finally the “lotus,” the wisdom a woman has in her most senior years.

The “mythical phoenix” on the left side panel connoting all feminine forces in the universe refers to the Empress. The dragon, connoting all male forces, is on the far right side panel, refers to the Emperor. When the two symbols are presented together, it is believed that all competing cosmic forces are brought into balance, thus offering a blessing of peace to Mr. Liu and its viewers.

On the bottom of this “Han Palace side” of the screen we turn back to references to Taoism with the images of the wild chimera, mythical creatures whose job it is to guard us from entering the world of the Immortals. From it’s pre Han times, Chinese culture has been a rich eclectic mix of many ideas and religions. So the analytical interest in the scientific could easily coexist with the mystical beliefs in the supernatural and symbolic tenets of Taoism in the rich culture of these Ming times.

Prepared for the Docent Council by Gail Elnicky, 2006

Please see the Postcript below for information on how it was made.

Selected Bibliography

1 Birrell, Anne, Chinese Mythology: An Introduction, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1993.

2 Birrell, Anne, The Classic of the Mountains and Seas, Penguin Books London, 1999.

3 Blofeld, John, Taoism: The Road to Immortality: Shambhala Press, Boston, 1985.

4 Campbell, Joseph, The Masks of God: Oriental Mythology; Penguin Group, New York, 1976.

5 Cao Xueqin, Gao E. Yang Xianyi, Dream of the Red Mansions: Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 1984.

6 Dezhen, Chen with Zhiyan Fang and Huaxiu FangThe Origin of the Chinese Dieties, Foreign Language Press, Beijing, 1995

7 Eberhard, Wolfram, A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought, Routledge, London 1996.

8 Te Lin; Chinese Myths; Hodder & Stoughton Educational: Teach Yourself Books, London, 2001.

9 Waley, Arthur, The Nine Songs (form the Han Dynasty) A Study of Shamanism in Ancient China, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London, 1955.

10 Walls, Jan and Yvonne Walls, Classical Chinese Myths Joint Publishing Co, Hong Kong, 1984.

11 Williams, C.A.S. Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives: 3rd Edition, Dover Publications, New York, 1976.

12 Wong, Eva, Teachings of the Tao: Shambhala Press, Boston & London, 1997.

13 Zhu Jiajin and Xia Gengi Lacquer Treasures From China Pre Qin-Qing Dynasty, Volume 5: “The Ming Dynasty,“ Fujian Art Publishing House; Beijing, China, n.d.

14 National Palace Museum Of Taiwan: “ Spring Morning in the Han Palace” by Ch’iu Ying, handscroll, www.npm.gov.tw/English/collections/p031

POSTSCRIPT

How Coromandel Screens were Made

The term “Coromandel“ comes from the English East India Company’s trading post on the Coromandel Coast of southeast India where mass produced lacquer wares were once trans-shipped from China to Europe. But in modern usage it has come to mean much more the description of a specific technique used to finish the screen than just a reference to the original port.
(#3 Phillips: page 226)

In the Ming and Q’ing (ching) Dynasties, there was a tremendous demand for them in Europe started as early as the late 1500’s by Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603). She had a special room decorated with lacquer wares which had been confiscated by her licensed “pirates” from Chinese ships as they sat at sea allowing the lacquer to dry in the moist air. It was considered a great privilege and a mark of social status to be invited by the Queen to see this room (#2 Garner). By the early 1610’s, the increased demand by European nobility to copy her and have these wares in their own homes made it practical to mass produce them (#3 Eardley, page 178-180).

These mass-produced “coromandel” screens typically have 4-6 panels carved in as few as five or so layers of the red or black tinted lacquer. Though often beautiful, the images were simple, often a single bird on the branch of a tree or a dragon. If a few figures were included, they are painted in solid blocks of colored lacquer or paint. Those fewer commercial screens done to fill special orders might also have some shell inlay or in the beautiful Japanese tradition, or be finished with a simple sprinkling of gold or silver paint. Because they were shipped was on the “Coromandel Coast” of India, the term “coromandel” has been applied to all of them.

By contrast, however, Coromandel Lacquer Screens made specifically for the Chinese nobility in the Ming and Q’ing Dynasties were quite intricately carved and designed, and are considered fine rare pieces of art. When commissioned for a specific occasion, they have an inscription giving the date and occasion for this gift. The inscription on the SBMA Screen reads: “Given to Mr. Liu by Mr. Song on the occasion of his 70th birthday.”

These screens, by contrast to the mass produced versions, were typically 8 or 12 panels and were made with many more layers of lacquer. So much so that the depth of the lacquer gave these artisans the ability to carve it and create a foreshortened perspective to the elements in the scenes. For example, carved at different depths, a tree seems to have branches that come forward and some that go back in space. Instead of filling the figures in with solid blocks of color like the mass produced screens, each one is carefully hand painted with bright colored oil and lacquer pigments and/or inlaid with precious stone, shell or ivory. As you look up close you will see each is a unique artistic creation.

The 7 Steps Involved in Making the Screen:

This SBMA twelve-paneled screen was most likely produced in the Emperor’s court by his select artisans, the best of their craft. There are two main clues to support this. For one, there are 12 panels to the screen rather than 8, signifying it was done for the court. Secondly, the dragon on the right panel of Spring Morning In the Han Palace side has 4-toes. When the Emperor’s court artisans were commissioned to do make artworks for a member of the court, they gave the dragon 4 toes. If they had done it for the Emperor, the dragon would be given 5 and if created in a private workshop, the dragon could only have 3 toes.

The following text offers an explanation of 7 steps for how the SBMA screen was made. As you move from left to right on the diagram you can see step 2-4 portrayed on a digitally produced “cartoon” at the bottom of tye Postscript.

1. Choosing the images:

Work on the screen most likely began as many as to 2-3 years before the date of the occasion. Mr. Song would have gone to the court studio to pick the images he would want included. Based on the frequency with which Q’ing and Ming Period screens dedicated to high officials have the “Spring Morning In the Han Palace” scene on one side, it would suggest the choice of this image was a “standard” choice for a high official of the court.

But how much detail was incorporated in creating even this more common scene, and what other images were chosen for the upper and lower panels on this side as well as what scene was chosen for the other side of the screen seems distinctive enough to reflect Mr. Song’s choices of how he wanted to personalize this gift for Mr. Liu. One source explains that there were probably pattern books from which ideas could be selected, but that in the court studio, the way the details were combined or specifically executed was still a matter of artistic judgment.

Having chosen his images, Mr. Song would also have to designate the style of design of the overall frame of the panels. The stepped shape on the bottom of each panel of the SBMA Screen is a copy of a classical detail from T’ang Period furniture.

The main images and overall shape selected; the artisans would begin their work. It is not clear if Mr. Song would have returned to review the work at any other phase during the process or if he would have been seeing it for the first time 2 to 3 years later when it was being presented to Mr. Liu.

The many steps in the process needed to create the screen are described below and illustrated in the accompanying diagrams to be read from left to right.

SEE DIAGRAM BELOW

2. Forming the panels:

First, the wood shop would carve the frames out of cheaper open grained woods. Of course the better the wood, the less likely it would crack as it aged or was stored in dry environments. Formed as open frames with cross bars (See panel 1 of the illustration), these shapes would then be sent to be covered with up to 10 layers of cloth dipped in a slurry mix of gesso clay and lacquer made from the toxic sap extracted from the plant Rhus verniciflua (panel 2) or other varieties of Rhus. (Note: As this plant was indigenous there, China was the most important source of lacquer in the Eastern world.)

Once this base form was dried, another 10-20 extremely fine layers of this un-tinted natural yellowish-green lacquer sap would be applied over it to create “a good quality base” (#3,Phillips page 242). The “thirty layers together ...should be little more than a few millimeters thick!” (# 3, page 242). Then, using a pumice stone, the top surface would have been smoothed before any colored lacquering would be applied.

3. Making the colored lacquer base:

Next the colored lacquer would be applied. The three most common colors for tinting lacquer were black, vermillion with a black undercoat, or the purplish brown/eggplant one as seen on the SBMA Screen (#3, Phillips page 243-244). This eggplant color, as in the Santa Barbara Screen, is considered far more rare than the more common black or red screens.

Each tinted layer of lacquer was brushed on with ox-hair brushes in overlapping strokes that moved first in one direction then the other from the center of the panel to the edges. Each layer required 2-5 days at about 70 degrees + to dry. The lacquer dries best when it is applied in a dust free and damp environment so that it can dry from within and not just on the outer surface. (Note: this is one of the reason’s why the Queen’s “pirate” ships found the screens on boats at sea). For those in which the finest craftsmanship was employed, after every second coat, the surface was rubbed down with warm soapy water and then lightly sanded and dusted with a moistened cloth before the next layers of lacquer were applied.

After about 20- 25 coats of the colored lacquer, a uniform coat of white gesso was laid down over the whole surface. It was then covered with yet another 20 or 25 layers of the lacquer. These layers were often just a tint different from the final surface layer coats, so as cuts were made through the layers the slight change in value made the cuts look deeper.

Again after another 20 or so layers were applied, a thin layer of lacquer mixed with ground jade was applied to the SBMA screen panels in those areas where mountains would be carved before many more layers of the brown/black tinted lacquer were applied.

For the final 4-6 eggplant/brown coats, each one was meticulously sanded smooth before the next one was applied.

In the end, the total number of layers of lacquer could be as many as 100+ but all these layers together only added up to a final total depth of 5/8 to 3/4 inches. As each layer required the long, patient drying period of 4-6 days so that it would not fault from within, these multi-layered bases took many months to prepare.

4. Transcribing the drawing to the lacquered screen panels:

The lacquer panels prepared, fully dried and sanded, a full-scale tissue paper with all the details of the images to be applied to the screen were drawn in reverse with white chalk dust. So that the image might read as continuous across the whole screen, whether seen from straight ahead or at the slight angle when it is partially folded, the lines of the composition for each separate panel had to be carefully placed.

This chalk drawing was laid over the panels and transferred by rubbing with a burin or pointed stick.

Once all the details were transferred to the base, each panel was given to a carver to incise the image. There might be 12 different carvers for the 12 panels. But all needed to look as if one hand had done it.

5. Carving the images:

Looking across the screen, wherever there are white images, like the clouds or the background of the waves, the carver incised as far down as that white gesso layer and not a millimeter further. Similarly, wherever the jade color was required in the image, such as to create the “jade mountains,” the carver carved only to that layer and no further. These artisans were using the prized carving techniques that had been first done in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to create a unique marbleized surface called “ti-xi” (like a rhinoceros skin). But instead of the yellow, red and black to distinguish the layers they used whites and jades.

Then using their specialized “v” and “u” shaped blades of different widths and depths, they carved the various patterns and shapes that gave forms to the detail images of their portion of the screen. These patterns had been created over the centuries for use in carving jade and in the detailing of the bronze works. There were specific textures for each tree variety, for different types of mountains and for the flowers.

It happened that in 1679-1701, just before the time the SBMA Screen was carved, these symbolic textures were codified by Ch’ao Tzu-Yu (shu ough zoo you) in conjunction with his teacher, Master Chang Tzu-Hsiang ( Chang Zoo Zhang) and recorded in what is now called The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting. The pine is easily distinguished from other trees. These textures were also the ones commonly used by the literati painters since the Song Dynasty.

Records were also kept of the various styles of dress, and were used to make sure they were authentically Han for the “Spring Morning in the Han Palace.” Each Immortal in the Taoist Paradise side of the SBMA Screen is dressed in the style of dress common to the period in which that figure was first recognized as an immortal. So as you look across the screen you see many different periods of dress.

6. Hand painting each figure:

Next, with all the various textures of the plants, mountains and figures carved, the panels are given to the painters. Here is where the distinctive and fanciful work that distinguishes “Coromandel Lacquer” to a connoisseur took place. Using all the rich painting techniques that had been developed in Japan and Korea, as well as China, the artisans used turpentine and varnish mixed with tints to paint each individual figure as its own unique masterpiece. There were ten tints commonly available: titanium white, chrome yellow, yellow lake, yellow ochre, vermillion, alizarin crimson, Prussian blue, burnt sienna, raw umber and burnt umber.

As you look at the various figures on the SBMA Screen you can see that the artists used many different kinds of brushes to get a variety of finishes. Where they needed a brocade effect, gold-leaf powder was added to the medium.

7. Polishing and varnishing to complete it:

Finally, once all the paintings were completed, before the screen was assembled, each panel was carefully rubbed with bees wax to create the luster and then several layers of shellac were applied. Note: clouds in the second and third panels from the left vary from white to yellow because of the different ways the shellac has discolored over time.

Considering the complexity and intricacy of the process, it is easy to understand the awe and appreciation with which Mr. Liu must have received this incredible gift.

Prepared for the SBMA Docent Council by Gail Elnicky, 2006

Selected Bibliography

1 SBMA Curatorial Files and publications.

2 Garner, Sir Henry; Chinese Lacquer: Faber and Faber, London, 1979.

3 Clunas, Craig: “Korea and the Ryukyu Islands”; Julia Hutt with Oliver Impey: “Japan”; Caroline Eardley: “England and Scotland, France” and Rosemary Scott: “China” from Lacquer: An International History and Illustrated Survey: edited by Phoebe Phillips, Harry N. Abrams Inc., Publishers, 1984.

4 Knight, Michael, “Lacquer” from China 5,000 Years, Howard Rogers, editor, Soloman R. Guggenheim Museum: February 6 - June 3, 1998 , New York, 1998.

5 Mai Mai Sze editor: The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: by Chieh Tzu Yuan Hua Chuan, 1679-1701, Bollingen Series, Princeton University Press, New York, 1977.

6 Zhu Jiajin and Xia Gengi, Lacquer Treasures From China Pre Qin-Qing Dynasty, Volume 5: “The Ming Dynasty,“ Fujian Art Publishing House, Beijing, China, n.d.

7 www.bishopmuseum.org Art Conservation Handout: “Lacquer.”