A SET OF BOXWOOD 'BAMBOO' FAN FRAMES ATTRIBUTED TO ZHOU YI, LATE QING DYNASTY

one end carved with bamboo segments, the other as a stem bearing blossoms, the transition from the straight handle skilfully aided by naturalistically rendered leaves

The unusually fine carving and artistry of this fan frame suggests the hand of Zhou Yi of Changsha, the famous carver of wood and ivory from the late-Qing dynasty. A signed ivory fan-frame is illustrated in Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, pl. 58, together with an unsigned frame carved in wood attributed to Zhou, pl. 25. See also a paper fan with boxwood mounts attributed to the school of Zhou Yi, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2197.