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Lot Essay
The inscription is a quote from a Tang dynasty poem by Shen Quan Qi. It describes the gratitude of the woman on the front of the screen towards her master. The inscription may be read:
'To the Master: Joyous and deeply grateful is she to serve and to follow, as though two suns are illuminating her saints and ancestors.'
Touhu is believed to be have been played in China as early as the Eastern Zhou dynasty (722-211 BC), and continued to be popular through the centuries afterward. By the Ming dynasty the vases or pitchpots were made in bronze, iron, ceramic and even cloisonné, and the shape was usually as that of the vase on the present screen. Diagrams can be found in Ming and Qing dynasty books showing the various positions for the arrows to land, and also throwing techniques. For a full discussion of the game see, C. Mackenzie and I. Finkel, eds., Asian Games: The Art of Contest, Asia Society, New York, 2004, pp. 274-81.
'To the Master: Joyous and deeply grateful is she to serve and to follow, as though two suns are illuminating her saints and ancestors.'
Touhu is believed to be have been played in China as early as the Eastern Zhou dynasty (722-211 BC), and continued to be popular through the centuries afterward. By the Ming dynasty the vases or pitchpots were made in bronze, iron, ceramic and even cloisonné, and the shape was usually as that of the vase on the present screen. Diagrams can be found in Ming and Qing dynasty books showing the various positions for the arrows to land, and also throwing techniques. For a full discussion of the game see, C. Mackenzie and I. Finkel, eds., Asian Games: The Art of Contest, Asia Society, New York, 2004, pp. 274-81.