A LACQUERED AND GILT JADE-INSET FOUR-PANEL FOLDING SCREENRepublic Period
Each panel inset with five rectangular plaques of spinach-green jade, each plaque painted in gilt on both sides with one side bearing a richly detailed landscape and the other side bearing a 'bird and flower' scene, each plaque installed within a gilt-decorated red-lacquered frame set within the folding screen structure itself lacquered red and overpainted with floral scroll gilt and polychrome lacquered, the spandrels between the legs each painted with archaistic kuilong scroll.
72 1/4 x 13 1/4in (183.5 x 33.7cm) each panelFootnotes民國 紅漆鑲翠玉描金四折屏風
Provenance:
Collection of John J. Raskob (1879-1950), acquired in Shanghai in 1935 (by repute), thence by descent
來源：
John J. Raskob (1879-1950)舊藏，據1935年購於上海，後由家族承繼
The exquisite painting and high degree of detail in the present screen reflect the opulent taste that prevailed among Chinese and foreign collectors at the turn of the 20th century and into the Republic period. The screen would have originally had eight panels and would have been a stately addition to a formal domestic space. A screen of this type, but with all eight panels intact, sold at Christie's, New York, 21 March 2014, lot 2305. Another, from the Avery Brundage Collection, is now in the San Francisco Asian Art Museum (obj. no. B60J978), and viewable on the Museum's website. A third is illustrated in Stanley Charles Nott, A Catalogue of Rare Chinese Jade Carvings, 1940, pp 60-64. Compare also jade-inset folding screens from the late Qing dynasty similarly designed, but with the details carved rather than painted onto the jade panels and wood frame, including one in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated on the Museum's website (coll. no. 中玉000624N000000000), and one exhibited in Qing dai yu diao yi shu / The Jade-Carving Art in the Chʻing Dynasty, Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, pp 66-67.
John Jakob Raskob (1879-1950) was a successful businessman, philanthropist, and a dedicated collector of jade. In his professional life, he rose from being the personal secretary of Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954) to become the assistant treasurer, treasurer, and then the president of finance at DuPont chemical company. He led DuPont to acquire a majority stake in General Motors (GM), and subsequently led and expanded the finance operations of GM. Raskob left his mark on New York City by investing in the Empire State Building and playing a significant role in its construction. In his personal life, he served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and was involved in numerous Catholic organizations and charities, including his tenure as treasurer of the Knights of Malta. In her book Gump's Treasure Trade: A Story of San Francisco (1949), Carol Greene Wilson describes Raskob as a frequent client of the famed San Francisco store, Gump's, and a highly respected collector of jade in the first half of the 20th century.
A LACQUERED AND GILT JADE-INSET FOUR-PANEL FOLDING SCREENRepublic Period
Each panel inset with five rectangular plaques of spinach-green jade, each plaque painted in gilt on both sides with one side bearing a richly detailed landscape and the other side bearing a 'bird and flower' scene, each plaque installed within a gilt-decorated red-lacquered frame set within the folding screen structure itself lacquered red and overpainted with floral scroll gilt and polychrome lacquered, the spandrels between the legs each painted with archaistic kuilong scroll.
72 1/4 x 13 1/4in (183.5 x 33.7cm) each panelFootnotes民國 紅漆鑲翠玉描金四折屏風
Provenance:
Collection of John J. Raskob (1879-1950), acquired in Shanghai in 1935 (by repute), thence by descent
來源：
John J. Raskob (1879-1950)舊藏，據1935年購於上海，後由家族承繼
The exquisite painting and high degree of detail in the present screen reflect the opulent taste that prevailed among Chinese and foreign collectors at the turn of the 20th century and into the Republic period. The screen would have originally had eight panels and would have been a stately addition to a formal domestic space. A screen of this type, but with all eight panels intact, sold at Christie's, New York, 21 March 2014, lot 2305. Another, from the Avery Brundage Collection, is now in the San Francisco Asian Art Museum (obj. no. B60J978), and viewable on the Museum's website. A third is illustrated in Stanley Charles Nott, A Catalogue of Rare Chinese Jade Carvings, 1940, pp 60-64. Compare also jade-inset folding screens from the late Qing dynasty similarly designed, but with the details carved rather than painted onto the jade panels and wood frame, including one in the collection of the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated on the Museum's website (coll. no. 中玉000624N000000000), and one exhibited in Qing dai yu diao yi shu / The Jade-Carving Art in the Chʻing Dynasty, Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, pp 66-67.
John Jakob Raskob (1879-1950) was a successful businessman, philanthropist, and a dedicated collector of jade. In his professional life, he rose from being the personal secretary of Pierre Samuel du Pont (1870-1954) to become the assistant treasurer, treasurer, and then the president of finance at DuPont chemical company. He led DuPont to acquire a majority stake in General Motors (GM), and subsequently led and expanded the finance operations of GM. Raskob left his mark on New York City by investing in the Empire State Building and playing a significant role in its construction. In his personal life, he served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee and was involved in numerous Catholic organizations and charities, including his tenure as treasurer of the Knights of Malta. In her book Gump's Treasure Trade: A Story of San Francisco (1949), Carol Greene Wilson describes Raskob as a frequent client of the famed San Francisco store, Gump's, and a highly respected collector of jade in the first half of the 20th century.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
