A COMPLETE SET OF FOUR EMBROIDERED SILK PANELS, DEPICTING THE FOUR SEASONS, MID-QING DYNASTY

Expert’s note:
Finding complete and well-preserved sets of silk panels that depict all four seasons, sometimes inserted into four-fold screens, is exceptionally rare. These artistic compositions typically include images of birds, rocks, and flowers, following the conventions of flora and fauna studies that were popular during the Song dynasty. Paintings made by court artists were often sent to the Imperial workshops in Suzhou, where they would be meticulously recreated using the finest embroidery techniques.

China, 18th to early 19th century. The four large silk panels are finely embroidered primarily in satin stitch with colorful scenes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, depicting bird and flower motifs according to each season with auspicious imagery, including the deer with lingzhi and the cat and butterfly, against a golden-brown ground.

Each panel is framed behind glass. (4)


Provenance:
From the collection of Paul V. Taylor, and thence by descent in the same family. The back of each panel is inscribed, naming the season and dating these panels to the 13th century. Each panel also has an old label, naming the season and the provenance. Rev. Dr. Paul Vivian Taylor, Ph.D., D.D. (1892-1974) was a protestant missionary active in China from 1924 to 1950. During his time in China, Taylor taught English at Huping College and later Philosophy and Psychology at Huachung University in Wuchang (known today as the Central China College), where he eventually became Dean of Faculty. When the Japanese forces invaded China in 1937, Taylor stayed and led the effort in moving the complete college to Kweilin, out of the reach of the Japanese invaders. Taylor wrote a book titled Our China Missionary (1924-1941): Chiang Kai-shek, Pearl S. Buck, Charles Lindbergh, and more.

Condition:
Overall very good condition. The Spring panel with some soiling and minor nicks to the frame. The Summer panel with few small tears, soiling, loose threads. The Autumn panel with few loose threads and few tiny losses. The Winter panel with minor soiling and few tiny tears. The frames with minor nicks and light scratches. Displaying spectacularly!

Dimensions: Image size 169 x 46 cm, Size including frame 177.5 x 55 cm


Spring
is embroidered with two long-tailed birds of paradise perched on a prunus branch, one cawing, above plum blossoms growing from leafy twigs, as well as flowering orange lilies growing from the ground.


Summer
is decorated with flowering peony blossoms, asters, and a central magpie perched high up on a branch and looking down upon a spotted deer carrying a lingzhi fungus in its mouth. The highly auspicious imagery of the spotted deer with lingzhi is associated with the god of longevity Shoulao and the immortal fungus.


Autumn
shows a golden pheasant perched on a craggy pierced rock, below a magnolia tree ready to bloom and above chrysanthemum blossoms, the lower section with a playful cat that has caught a butterfly in its mouth, a second butterfly fluttering above. The word for cat in Chinese (mao) is a homophone for the word for octogenarian, and the word for butterfly (die) sounds the same as that for a septuagenarian. Thus, the combination of the cat and butterflies here conveys the wish that the recipient might live a long life of seventy or eighty years.


Winter
is marked by two cranes perched on a pine tree, above large camellia blossoms. The presence of the cranes amidst pines and the single lingzhi mushroom on the ground represent auspicious imagery associated with longevity and vitality.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 14 May 2019, lot 180
Price: GBP 32,500 or approx.
EUR 49,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A beige-ground silk embroidered panel, late 18th- early 19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related satin stitch embroidering with similar chrysanthemums and rockwork. Note the slightly larger size (184 x 58.5 cm) and that the lot comprises only a single panel, which according to Christie’s “may have been one of a set of four designs representing the seasons.”


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2007, lot 452
Price: USD 18,000 or approx.
EUR 24,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A small finely embroidered silk panel, 18th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related satin stitch embroidering with similar long-tailed birds, floral blossoms, and craggy rockwork. Note the much smaller size (59 x 33 cm) and that the lot comprises only a single panel.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2007, lot 463
Price: USD 24,000 or approx.
EUR 32,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large embroidered silk panel, Qianlong/Jiaqing period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related satin stitch embroidering with similar cranes and rockwork. Note the smaller size (151.33 x 66 cm) and that the lot comprises only a single panel.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 31 May 2010, lot 1890
Price: HKD 620,000 or approx.
EUR 102,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine embroidered blue silk panel, Yongzheng/Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related satin stitch embroidering with similar birds, flowers, and rockwork. Note the much larger size (246 x 74.9 cm) and that the lot comprises only a single panel, which according to Christie’s “may have been one of a set of four designs representing the seasons.”




清代中期一組四件四季花鳥圖刺繡掛幅


中國, 十八世紀至十九世紀初。繡工精細，春夏秋冬四景，金棕色地，五彩斑斕，根據季節描繪出靈芝、鹿、貓、蝴蝶等吉祥圖案。


專家注釋：
完整且保存完好的描繪季節的絲綢掛幅，或是裝幀成四折屏風中，十分少見。這些作品通常包含花鳥、山石圖像，遵循宋代花鳥畫的規則。宮廷畫師的畫作被送到蘇州，用最高超的刺繡技術精心再現。

玻璃面裝裱。(4)


來源：
Paul V. Taylor私人收藏, 在同一家族保存至今。掛幅背面有描述，關於季節和年代“十三世紀”。Paul Vivian Taylor博士 (1892-1974) 是一位1924 年至1950 年間活躍在中國的新教傳教士。在中國期間，Taylor在湖平學院教授英語，後來在武昌華中大學（今天的華中書院）教授哲學和心理學，並最終成為該學院的院長。1937年日本入侵中國時，Taylor留下來並領導將整個學院遷往桂林，遠離日本侵略的影響。 Taylor寫了一本名為《Our China Missionary（1924-1941）：Chiang Kai-shek, Pearl S. Buck, Charles Lindbergh, and more.》的書。

品相
：
總體狀況極好，春季掛幅有一些污垢，框上有小劃痕。夏季掛幅上有一些小撕裂、髒污、鬆線。秋季掛幅上輕微鬆線和微小的缺損。冬季掛幅有輕微污垢和少量細小撕裂。鏡框有輕微刻痕和劃痕。

尺寸：畫面169 x 46 厘米, 含框177.5 x 55 厘米


春天綉品
中綉著兩隻長尾鳥棲息在桃樹枝上，其中一隻在鳴叫，桃花盛開，地里長出的橙色百合花。


夏天綉品
中牡丹盛開，一隻喜鵲高高地棲息在樹枝上，俯視著一隻嘴裡叼著靈芝的梅花鹿。梅花鹿與靈芝象徵吉祥。


秋天綉品
，一隻金雉棲息在假山上，一棵玉蘭樹，花朵含苞欲放。菊花下有一隻頑皮的貓，嘴裏叼一隻蝴蝶。空中飛舞著另一隻蝴蝶。貓蝶與耄耋諧音，因此象徵著長壽。


冬天綉品
，兩隻鶴棲息在一棵松樹上，地上有一株靈芝，象徵著長壽和活力。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2019年5月14日，lot 180
價格：GBP 32,500（相當於今日
EUR 49,000
）
描述：清十八世紀末/十九世紀初刺繡「秋色暄妍」圖
專家評論：比較非常相近的菊花和岩畫紋。請注意尺寸較大 (184 x 58.5 釐米)，以及此刺繡圖只有一件，根據佳士得的說法，「這可能是代表四季掛幅之一」。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2007年3月22日，lot 452
價格：USD 18,000（相當於今日
EUR 24,000
）
描述：十八世紀絲質刺繡掛幅
專家評論：比較非常相近的緞紋繡繡有類似的長尾鳥、花朵和崎嶇的山石紋。請注意尺寸較小 (59 x 33 釐米) ，以及此為一件刺繡掛幅。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2007年3月22日，lot 463
價格：USD 24,000（相當於今日
EUR 32,000
）
描述：乾隆嘉慶時期絲質刺繡掛幅
專家評論：比較非常相近的仙鶴和山石紋繡。請注意尺寸較小 (151.33 x 66 釐米) ，以及此為一件刺繡掛幅。


拍賣結果比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2010年5月31日，lot 1890
價格：HKD 620,000（相當於今日
EUR 102,000
）
描述：清雍正/乾隆月白緞繡秋花鳥蝶圖屏心
專家評論：比較非常相近的鳥、花卉和山石紋繡。請注意尺寸較大 (246 x 74.9 釐米) ，以及此刺繡圖只有一件，根據佳士得的說法，「這可能是代表四季掛幅之一」。