A Rare early Painted Wood Panel
Liao Dynasty (907 – 1125)
China
Length 102cm
Height 101cm
Composed of four vertical boards painted depicting two musicians
playing there respective instruments . Wearing a long robe and
thus not exposing any part of his body except for the neck,
a belt around his waist, and large hats. With the remains of
much pigment in blue, white, black and green, this painting
is a fine example of the art of the Liao Period.
The paintings and were found in a tomb located in Inner Mongolia.
The original name of the area in which they were found was
Chin Zhou = County name
Balin Yo Chi = District name
Today the area is better known as Chi Feng in Northern China
The tomb itself was located on a mountain side facing south
and overlooking a river. In Chinese mythology this is the ideal
location for a tomb.
The tomb was octagonal in shape and the interior walls are
of rock and lined with Bai-mu wood (Cedar)boards, as was the
floor and ceiling. It is believed this was done to keep the
interior of the tomb dry and well preserved. The tomb measured
10 meters across and 3-3.5 meters in height. It comprised a
central chamber and two smaller rooms to the east and west,
the stone coffin in the tomb faced slightly south towards the
entrance, to overlook the valley and river below.
The coffin which is made of stone sat inside a house which was
made of Bai-mu (Cedar) wood which had a height of 1.9 metres.One
man and two women presumably his wives were buried here. Probably
this man was a high official.
The two rooms facing east and west were rather small and contained
porcelain, bronzes, gilded items and wooden furniture.
At the entrance inside the tomb there was an altar table made
of rock with pottery placed on it.
On the outside of the wooden house were the wooden painted boards
also of Bai mu wood, and these surrounded the walls of the wooden
house.
The painted boards had a wooden frame shown by the way they
are tapered at the bottom. The paintings found outside the wooden
house were painted on one side only as they backed on to the
walls of the house.
The boards were found underneath the soil and when extracted
scratching and gauging occurred. It is possible that some of
the boards deteriorated more than others because they were separated
from the base on which they were standing and moisture had seeped
into them.
The three persons buried in the tomb were of high status indicated
by
The location of the tomb and the subject matter of the paintings.
Compare the delicate, detailed drawing with two similar Liao
panels in The Art Museum, Princeton University, illustrated
in Cary Liu’s symposium paper, “Sung Dynasty Painting
in the T’ai-ch’ing-lou Library Hall: From Historical
Commemoration to Architectural Renewal” Cary L Liu and
Dora C.Y Ching ed, Arts of Sung and Yuan Ritual, Ethnicity and
Style in Painting, Princeton University, 1999, figs 5-6 pp.98-99.
Reference: Christies. Fine Chinese Ceramics, Paintings and
Works of Art March 21 2000 New York. Lot 216 Page 220-221
