A PAIR OF IMPERIAL KESI 'DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL' HANGING SCROLLS QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS MAY BE REQUESTED BY SOTHEBY'S TO COMPLETE THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM AND TO DELIVER TO SOTHEBY'S A DEPOSIT OF HK$2,500,000, OR SUCH OTHER HIGHER AMOUNT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOTHEBY'S, AND ANY FINANCIAL REFERENCES, GUARANTEES AND/OR SUCH OTHER SECURITY AS SOTHEBY'S MAY REQUIRE IN ITS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS SECURITY FOR THE BID. THE BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM LOTS.

 

each of rectangular form, intricately woven in delicate primary colours with a rich, cosmopolitan scene set in the midst of the Dragon Boat festival, the two scenes depicting nine opulent Dragon Boats each elaborately decorated with banners and colourful flags, with onlookers watching attentively and cheering as they go by, other figures engaged in various pursuits, some beating drums and gongs, some touting horns, some fishing, some conversing and drinking tea and refreshment, set amid multi-storied pavilions, bridges and walkways, and surrounded by verdant trees including bamboo, paulownia, pine and willow, with high mountain peaks rising in the distance and clouds swirling above, accompanied by a long colophon by Song Liu with an excerpt from the Qingjia Lu by Gu Lu

A private Japanese collection.
Osaka Bijitsu Club, 21st February 1932, no. 115.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 11th April 2008, lot 2822.

Koutaigou Kyu Heika Eiran ('Queen Dowager Viewing'), Osaka Municipal Museum, 10th November 1891.

Both are in very good condition with minor creasing to the bottom of one scroll and to the top and left of the other (showing on the illustration in the catalogue).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The colophon accompanying this rare pair of kesi hanging scrolls was written in the gengshen year by Song Liu who copied a paragraph from the Qing Dynasty text Qingjia lu (A Clear Account of Felicitous Occasions) written by Gu Lu in 1830. The Qingjia lu is an account of the customs and local products of Suzhou during the Qing dynasty. The text describes the festive events of the summer Dragon Boat Race Festival in Suzhou. It mentions that a lot of visitors, dressed in their best attire, gather for this occasion and there is cheerful music played on the boats accompanied by the beating of the drums and gongs. The boats are heavily decorated with lanterns and candles which radiate bright luxurious lights just like white dragons. The boats stir up the water and create waves that look like snow piles. Finally, Song Liu praises the quality of the two kesi hanging scrolls and notes that they are made from the most beautiful and naturalistic woven fabric (huahua zhi lei) that is fabulously delicate and extremely rare.

Kesi depicting festive scenes such as the Dragon Boat Race are extremely rare, although a set of four silk tapestries, dating between 1750 and 1850, decorated with scenes from this festival can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, described and illustrated in Verity Wilson, Chinese Textiles, London, 2005, pp. 112-113, pl. 122 (one of the four). Wilson notes (p. 113) that the set is from the collection of Herr Kieruff, an entrepreneur who corresponded with the museum from the Villa Peking, Hellerup, in Denmark, at the turn of the 20th century. Kieruff made a single offer of over 400 Chinese textiles to the museum which included this set of kesi scrolls.

The Dragon Boat Race is a re-enacment of a legendary event that happened in Chinese history when people in boats searched for the drowned body of patriotic statesman Qu Yuan of the fourth and third century B.C. The race is held annually on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar to commemorate Qu's death. The boat race itself symbolises the search for Qu Yuan by making noise with drums and splashing water with paddles to keep evil spirits away. Food is also thrown into the water as an offering to distract the fish from eating his body.

For examples of early Qing kesi hanging scrolls with festive figure scenes see one scene from the 'Peach Festival' depicting a popular Daoist theme associated with the birthday celebration of Xiwangmu, the Queen of the West, sold in our New York rooms, 30th March 2006, lot 201; and another tapestry vividly woven with the 'One Hundred Boys' theme sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 59, also with an early Qing attribution.