CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, EPOQUE QIANLONG (1736-1795)

This exceptional skill belongs to an elite group of luxury wares produced in the 18th century in Guangzhou, as tribute for the Court. Like the present example, they typically feature bird and flower scenes rendered in delicate ivory appliques superimposed on intricately woven ivory caning. Compare to several imperial fans with very similar techiniques in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; Zhumu yajiaoqi, vol. 11, Shanghai, 1996, p. 95, no. 113. (Fig. 1); The Palace Museum Collection of Elite Carvings, Beijing, 2002, pp. 181-2, nos. 140-1; Gugong zhenbao, Beijing, 2004, p. 159; and Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987, p. 71, no. 7.