18TH CENTURY

Details

** A VERY RARE IVORY, HORN, WOOD, AND GLASS MODEL OF A DRAGON BOAT
18th century
The elaborate and festively-rigged vessel of painted wood, carved in the form of a golden scaled dragon, with a smaller wooden dragon chasing a horn flaming pearl applied to both sides of the hull, the dragon head-form bowsprit mounted with a banner showing the ba gua, Eight Trigrams, the upturned stern with removable tail and an array of phoenix flags, the cabin with eight pairs of painted glass and wood doors fitted with twin-fish pulls, and a two-tiered pagoda-roofed viewing platform, below a removable platform holding a joyful array of embroidered, applied-paper, and painted glass lanterns, dragon flags, dragon and peony banners, and ceremonial halbeards and axes, and manned by eight ivory boatmen dressed in blue with tasseled hats, the bearded captain in green stationed below a foredeck arch, the entire craft floating on a horn-veneered wood stand carved to resemble swirling waves, the assembly set on a wooden stand
26¼in. (66.6cm.) long

Special notice

Notice Regarding the Sale of Ivory and Tortoiseshell Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing ivory or tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

This ornate and finely detailed model of a dragon boat is most likely based on those that participated in the annual Dragon Boat Festivals held on the 5th day of the 5th moon, during which the long boats race up and down the river in pairs to the sound of horns and other loud instruments. A depiction of such a festival can be seen in a large 18th century kesi panel in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by R. Fry et al., in Chinese Art, Burlington Magazine Monographs, London, 1925, pl. 7. Five of these dragon boats are shown surrounded by smaller craft and crowds on the shore, and they are of similar form to the present, with similar banners and umbrellas and one can also see similar rowers with their long oars.
See, also, the all-ivory boat of this type and of Guangxu date presented to the Dowager Empress Cixi on her 60th birthday illustrated in Art Treasures from Birthday Celebrations at the Qing Court, The Palace Museum, raising the possibility that the present boat may also have been a gift.

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