Details
A PAIR OF ZITAN-VENEERED EMBELLISHED PANELS
19TH CENTURY
The rectangular panels are decorated in various hardstones and wood with a gnarled pine tree, blossoming prunus branch, and tall stalks of bamboo ('Three Friends of Winter') reserved on a tawny-yellow ground, enclosed within zitan-veneered frames.
27 ¾ in. (70.7 cm.) high x 40 3/8 in. (102.8 cm.) wide

Provenance
Michael D. Stevenson (1947-2011) Collection.
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Lot Essay

The design on these panels (bamboo, pine and prunus) represents 'The Three Friends of Winter'. The theme of the 'Three Friends' first emerged in poetry of the Song dynasty and then in paintings of the period. Each plant is symbolic in its own right. Bamboo is naturally flexible and is thus associated with immutability or humility. The pine represents longevity, and the prunus perseverance. As they number three, the ' Three Friends' are also equated to the three religions of China (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism), and to the three ideal qualities of a gentleman.

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