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A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
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A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 1
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 2
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 3
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 4
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 5
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 6
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 7
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 8
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 9
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 10
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 11
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 12
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 13
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 14
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 15
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 16
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 17
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 18
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 19
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 20
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 21
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 22
A group of four polychrome enameled plaques Republic period image 23
Property from Another Owner
Lot 8206

A group of four polychrome enameled plaques
Republic period

Chinese, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art and Paintings
28 June 2016, 12:00 PDT
San Francisco

Sold for US$10,000 inc. premium

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A group of four polychrome enameled plaques

Republic period
Of tall rectangular section now mounted in a pair of two-panel table screens, each depicting a different figural scene of historical motherhood; all four plaques inscribed with the signatures Yunyan and the cyclical date kuiwei (equivalent to 1943) as well as iron red seals reading Yunyan or shishan.
7 3/4 x 5in (19.7 x 12.7cm) dimensions of porcelain exclusive of frames

Footnotes

民國萬雲岩款 彩釉賢母圖瓷板四片一組

Provenance
Acquired from an old California estate

The seals and signature are those of the ceramicist Wan Yunyan (active 1930-1950). For three plates by this artist, see the examples offered in these rooms as lot 9501 in our sale 21821 of 17 December 17 2014.

The subject matter depicts a tradition of dutiful, if not fanatical, motherhood described in Chinese writings from earliest antiquity to present day (see for example, Chua, Amy, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. New York: Penguin, 2011). The first plaque inscribed xiong dan he wan identifies the mother as that of the Tang dynasty literatus Liu Gongchuo, here supervising her son's recovery from a night of bear gall-bladder pill-enhanced cramming; the second inscribed jing zhong bao guo depicts the Song dynasty General Yue Fei's elderly mother tattooing the phrase 'vigorously repay your country' on his back while his wife and child observe; the third inscribed hua di chuan fa depicts the Song dynasty scholar Ouyang Xiu in rapt attention while his mother instructs him with a long reed scratching at the ground; and the fourth inscribed ze lin quan xue depicts Mencius' mother, presumably recently relocated to a district more conducive to her child's education, ready to slice her weaving to shreds if the future sage shows the slightest sign of flagging in his studies.

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A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
FOUR CHINESE YIXING WARES Late Qing dynasty - 20th century
FIVE BURMESE AND THAI GILTWOOD FIGURES OF BUDDHA Late 19th/20th century
TWO JAPANESE CELADON GLAZED STUDIO CERAMICS
Huang Shanshou (1855-1919) Dragons in Clouds
Birodo Yuzen Meiji era (1868-1912)
TWO JAPANESE BRONZE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS Meiji/Taisho era
A KOREAN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'GRAPEVINE' GLOBULAR JAR Late Joseon dynasty
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