Pair of Antique Chinese Lattice Window Panels With Auspicious Symbols

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China is a very large country with many provinces. Each province has her own distinctive architecture and furniture styles. Some … Read more China is a very large country with many provinces. Each province has her own distinctive architecture and furniture styles. Some provinces are rural, and the taste is often associated with rustic country styles. Other provinces have forests that provide lumber for building large houses and fine furnishings. And there are provinces replete with natural resources that result in wealth, providing the rich and famous inhabitants with stylish dwellings filled with objects of elegance and refinement. This pair of openwork lattice window panels most likely come from such an environment, its simplicity of design speaks well of the appreciation of good taste.
The elegance of the panels is further enhanced with the recent addition of the salmon/coral color cloth backing.

The construction of the panels are done in a series of joinery, held in place by small wood carvings that symbolize all things auspicious. There are bats at the corners, harbinger of good luck, double coins held together by ribbons which are emblems of great wealth, the interlocking lozenge carries the meaning of "May you have victories over ten thousand generations." The lozenge in Chinese is a pun for victory. These are such meaningful symbols for wealth and success for the generations to come.

The wood has been refinished in a mahogany lacquer, there seems to be some modifications, visible in small empty slots that are visible in the sixth photo.

Based on the stylistic elements of the panels, they are most likely to have been architectural artifacts from houses in Zhejiang or Jiangsu Provinces in Southeast China, the two provinces that produced the most famous painters, poets and officials. The date is 19th century. See less