A Rare Linen Panel of a Hunting Scene

CHINA, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Provenance: Count Senator Fedele Lampertico (1833-1906) of Palazzo Lampertico, Vicenza, Italy.

160" x 86½” (450cm x 220 cm)

This large panel depicts a courtly group returning from a hunt. It is full of anecdotal detail, showing figures variously on horseback, holding falcons or carrying their quarry. The group approach a pavilion, where ladies and children play musical instruments, waiting to greet the hunting party. Behind is a mountainous landscape, whilst in the foreground stand a variety of pleasure pavilions. Scene such as this contributed to the European vision of China as an exotic wonderland, peopled by beautiful courtesans and leisured aristocrats.

It is extremely rare to find such a large panel painted onto linen. More commonly scenes like this one were included on Chinese wallpaper, which was popular in Europe throughout the eighteenth century. A painting in bodycolour on linen, much like the present example but considerably smaller, was bought back to England in 1800 and can now be seen in The Royal Pavilion, Brighton.

Literature:
Margaret Jourdain and R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Export Art in the Eighteenth Century, 1950, fig. 50, p. 99.