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Hoping someone may know about what time frame this would have been done and if possible a location.
Thanks in advance to all .....

Dear Dave H.,

Assuming the carved panel was depicting a scene from the then-current time period, it would likely date this to the early 17th century of the Ming dynasty. Just right of center, there is a tall official wearing what is called a Futou. Based on the Song dynasty's Zhanjiao Putou (展角幞頭; 'spread-horn head cover') these square black hats with spread horns were worn by Ming civil official's at court assemblies when they would present memorials or retirement notices to the Ming rulers.

These hats appear on Chinese blue and white porcelains made between 1620 and 1650 which is the Transitional period following the Wanli reign period which ended in 1619.

To the left of the tall official, there is another official holding a fan and wearing a similar futou/putou headwear piece worn by Ming officials consisting of a black hat with two wing-like flaps of thin, oval shaped boards on each side. According to the Collected Statutes of the Ming Dynasty (大明會典), ordinary citizens are not allowed to wear this headdress unless attending wedding ceremonies or events involving any noble families/officials.

In absence of dating the wood itself, I hope this is helpful enough to give you the century when this might have been carved.

Best Regards,
-mpm


Matthew P. Munafo | 马修-穆纳佛

MANAGING DIRECTOR and DEALER OF ASIAN ART & ANTIQUES | ROOM TONIC ASIAN ART
亞洲藝術及古董經銷商兼董事總經理 |房間滋補品 亞洲藝術

office: 781.631.5555 | mobile: 781.244.9586 | email: mpmunafo@roomtonic.com | www.roomtonic.com
22B Atlantic Avenue, Marblehead, MA 01945 | 马萨诸塞州马布尔黑德大西洋大道 22B 号 01945

Matthew your detailed reply is greatly appreciated. I would not have guessed the potential of the 17th century. From the information you have provided I can and will follow up to see how much more I can learn.

Again thank you so very much Matthew and have a good one .....

Chinese antique furniture specialist here. I have handled hundreds or even thousands of these carvings in my time, back when I ran a restoration facility in Beijing.

This is a lovely, well thought out response although you are missing one cornerstone piece of information which is the source of these images. These items are not like porcelain where one can always do a direct comparison. Usually these carvings are taken from either full sized indoor architectural screen panels (as a single inset panel at the top in the middle know as the "belt" area) OR they taken from a canopy bed. At this dimension either of these is likely but color is more suggestive of a bed.

The stories depicted are usually taken from classics of Chinese literature (although sometimes from local folk tales as well) and the imagery itself is usually based on wood block prints. So its possible (and even common) to have Ming imagery on a Qing piece. And if this is from a bed which is likely, 17th century beds, even provincial softwood ones tend to have a different aesthetic from what's required to use this carving.

This has lovely patina (better than most) which is a good sign although patina can build up quicky in China's rough and tumble countryside. But its highly unlikely for this to date back to the 1600ies. Especially for this style of Southern style softwood carvings which don't do well long term in the humidity. Even 1700ies would be pushing it. 1800ies would be a reasonable guess for this. Very very nice though for what they are.

I will include a link here if you want to learn a bit more about these sort of carvings and how they were used. There should be some book suggestions are well in that link.

URL Title :The specialists guide to Chinese window screens, carved wood panels & decorative lattice screens

Roger, greatly appreciate your input & expertise on this panel. Matthew started me off in the right direction and by more research and following up I found this to be of Architectural Design just as you stated. I also am of the opinion this is from the 1800's from my further research. To me it is a great piece to add to my tiny collection..

Again thanks so very much Roger & have a good one .... Also the link is appreciated.....

Matthew's response was quite interesting too though. Its always a good idea to look at clothing!

Dear Roger,

Thank you for the insight. Yes. You are correct. I only said what I did on the assumption that it was carved as a contemporary piece in its day.

However, I reserve the right to be wrong... I also reserve the right to ask for a full lesson and master class from anyone who might correct me, who can provide one. I am learning 4,000-5,000 years of Chinese history, one object at a time. :)

I will be in Hong Kong on May 5-8 and then off to Jingdezhen for a Study Tour. I have 2-3 three days in Hong Kong free to discover the city. If you are close, please join me for drink. If you have the time, please show me the city.

I do yield to your point that artists did copy scenes and objects from older time periods. I should say that the carving could very well have been 19th century, even 20th if done by a current or modern day artist studying people, flora, and fauna from centuries past.

My mistake. Sorry if I mislead anyone.

ROGER - Call me directly if you are local to HK and can make time to meet up on the dates I mentioned above.

+! 781-244-9586

Best Regards,
-Matt

Matt,

You are on the right track though in looking at the clothing and headgear. This is an area I have much catch up work to do. So its totally worth it that you added that to the conversation.

And you are so right on how wide and expansive this area of learning is. Its like a vast ocean. I think the more we learn the more we realize we all have so much we still don't know. I guess that makes it interesting though right? :)

Do you have whatsapp on that phone number? Perhaps we can talk there. I am actually more often now in Japan these day but I am thinking to be back in Hong Kong as well around that time.

Hi Roger,

I am on WhatsApp +1 781-244-9586. I'd try calling you now but it's a bit late in the early morning hours for you. I'll make a note to ring you around 9:00am local time in Japan. I'm looking forward to catching up.

Best Regards,
-Matt

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