Olivia Xu
Associate Specialist
THE PROPERTY OF A LADY 女士藏品
Lot 93
A LARGE CORAL RED-GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED 'LONGEVITY' HANGING 19th century
Amended
16 May 2024, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £14,080 inc. premium
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Chen Xie
Specialist
Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
A LARGE CORAL RED-GROUND SILK EMBROIDERED 'LONGEVITY' HANGING
19th century
Finely embroidered with a seaside scene featuring a crane standing on pitted rocks amidst pine trees, branches of large peaches, peonies and bats, beside a dedicatory inscription painted in gold, all surrounded by a border of leiwen designs interspersed with three Shou medallions and the Eight Auspicious Symbols, between two bands of scrolling lotus, beneath a gathering of immortal figures and above a flock of cranes carrying a tally besides a pagoda floating on water.
434cm (170 7/8in) high x 187cm (73 1/2in) wide.
Finely embroidered with a seaside scene featuring a crane standing on pitted rocks amidst pine trees, branches of large peaches, peonies and bats, beside a dedicatory inscription painted in gold, all surrounded by a border of leiwen designs interspersed with three Shou medallions and the Eight Auspicious Symbols, between two bands of scrolling lotus, beneath a gathering of immortal figures and above a flock of cranes carrying a tally besides a pagoda floating on water.
434cm (170 7/8in) high x 187cm (73 1/2in) wide.
Footnotes
十九世紀 緞繡紅地「海屋添壽」圖掛屏
繡款「例贈安人郝尊母李太君七旬榮壽製 恭祝」
Provenance: a distinguished private European collection
Marie Joséphine Eugénie Brégère-Kromer Violet (1864 - 1921) and thence by descent
來源： 顯赫歐洲私人收藏
Marie Joséphine Eugénie Brégère-Kromer Violet (1864 - 1921)，並由後人保存迄今
Marie Joséphine Eugénie Brégère-Kromer Violet, a wealthy French lady, married Lambert Violet in 1899. Lambert was the son of Simon Violet, a prominent wine producer who, in 1873, created Byrrh, a renowned aromatised wine aperitif blending wine with mistelles and botanicals. Initially marketed as a health tonic, Byrrh faced challenges competing with established local aperitif producers. However, the business thrived, growing from a modest operation to one of significant scale.
Following Simon's passing in 1891, Lambert assumed control of the family business, overseeing the construction of immense cathedral-like cellars in Thuir. These cellars, completed in 1892, boasted 70 oak vats with a total storage capacity exceeding 15 million litres. By 1910, the company boasted 750 employees and distributed over 30 million litres of Byrrh annually.
In 1914, Marie assumed leadership of her husband's business, significantly expanding its operations. Her children, Jacques and Simon, continued this growth, and by 1934, Byrrh had become France's leading aperitif brand, selling approximately 35 million litres annually.
The decorative subjects embroidered on the present hanging suggest that it would have been commissioned to commemorate a birthday, as the dedicatory inscription also suggests: 例贈安人郝尊母李太君七旬榮壽製 恭祝
Which may be translated as: 'Made in honour of Madam Hao's respected mother, Madam Li, on her seventieth birthday, with respectful wishes.'
Cranes were believed to transport the immortals to heavens; the large peaches growing in the garden of the queen Mother of the West bestowed Immortality to whomever ate them; finally, the cranes carrying tallies to the pavilion floating amidst water form the rebus Haiwu Tianchou, which can be translated as 'Adding tallies to the Immortal's abode above the sea'. The literary origin of the scene originated in 'Conversations of Three Old Men', from the 'Collected Writings by Su Dongpo' Dongpo Zhilin 東坡志林, by the Northern Song scholar Su Shi (1037-1101 AD). The text centres on a dialogue among three immortals discussing their longevity. One of them proudly declared 'Throughout every epoch of the sea transforming into mulberry fields, I've kept track by placing a bamboo strip in my home as a tally. Now, the tallies have overflowed ten houses.'
Saleroom notices
Please note that the photographs for Lots 93 and 94 have been reversed in the printed catalogue so these lots will be sold as per the image on the Internet catalogue.
