CHINE - Fin époque MING (1368 - 1644)

Lot 226
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Estimation :
15000 - 20000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 19 200EUR
CHINE - Fin époque MING (1368 - 1644)
Ink and colors on silk, Laozi seated in a cart decorated with cabochons and carved flowers, pulled by a large white elephant richly adorned, the arms of the cart adorned with phoenix heads, the backrest surmounted by a pearl in a flamed mandorla. He holds a basket of flowers and lotus fruits as well as gourds, scrolls placed behind him. At his side, a stranger holding a banner floating in the wind and a young mahout in green garb, guiding the elephant with his instruments. Polychrome ink on silk mounted on canvas (restorations, missing parts, repaints). Two illegible stamps. Dim. 172 x123 cm. Framed. Provenance: Purchased in 1976 from Georges Lefebvre in Paris. Donated by Georges Lefèbvre as a former Ephrussi de Rothschild collection. The elephant is a symbol of good fortune and peace in traditional Chinese culture. It has always been loved by the Chinese for its gentle nature and longevity. One of the five legendary emperors, Shun, was the first person in Chinese history to tame a wild elephant to plow a field. The character "elephant" in the bone inscriptions used for oracles Shang represents a man holding an elephant. Some scholars believe that, from the shape of the character of this word, it can be deduced that the people of the Shang Dynasty (c.1600 - 1046 BC) had tamed elephants long before they tamed cattle and horses. An exquisite bronze elephant-shaped Zun vase from the Shang Dynasty also proved that the elephant is an auspicious object and the emblem of the Shang nation. Later, as the area of forests in northern China decreased and the population increased, elephants gradually migrated southward. In the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) after the mission of Zhang Qinghai, elephants were introduced into the Chinese territory. JC) after Zhang Qian's mission to the West and the conquest of Vietnam by Emperor Han Wu Di, elephants began to be introduced into China from Southeast Asian countries and became rare animals for the emperor and nobles to enjoy. Among them, Asian white elephants were particularly rare and were considered sacred relics to be venerated. The book Fu Rui Zhi of the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) says: "The white elephant appears only when the emperor has successfully conquered and educated the four directions (the whole world)." For more than 2,000 years, the white elephant has been a symbol of good luck, peace and longevity in Chinese cultural tradition, hence the saying "There is an elephant in peace," which describes calm oceans, peaceful rivers and healthy, wealthy people
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