Red sandalwood inlaid with silver silk and stained teeth inlaid on the surrounding screen of Guangxi Prefecture

[Red sandalwood inlaid with silver silk and stained teeth inlaid on the screen of Guangxi Prefecture]

The Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty was 530 cm in width and 192 cm in height
The bezel of the screen is made of red sandalwood, with silver threads carved with Kui patterns and bat patterns. There are twelve screens in total, describing the style and features of the twelve prefectures in Guangxi history in patterns and characters. From left to right, they are: Guilin Prefecture, Pingyue Prefecture, Xunzhou Prefecture, Nanning Prefecture, Sien Prefecture, Zhen’an Prefecture, Liuzhou Prefecture, Qingyuan Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture, Sicheng Prefecture, Yulin Prefecture, and Wuzhou Prefecture. Each screen consists of four parts from top to bottom: the upper eyebrow plate is inlaid with vegetables or fruits carved with ivory; In the middle is a landscape of Yifu carved in ivory and painted in multicolored colors. Craftsmen carve elegant and beautiful landscapes and local characters’ customs on a screen center 89 centimeters high and 36 centimeters wide. The rocky mountains are secluded and mysterious, with infinite scenery, and many characters are vividly depicted in their respective styles; The lower part is inlaid with an ivory plate, engraved with descriptive text such as the name, history, and geographical location of the local government; The skirt at the bottom is inlaid with various antique paintings carved in ivory
According to the Records of the Geography of Guangxi in the Draft of the Qing Dynasty, the names of the twelve prefectures of Guangxi had been fully formed in the seventh year of Yongzheng’s reign (1729). Based on the craftsmanship, technique, and artistic style of the screen, it can be inferred that it was a tribute made in Guangxi during the early Qianlong Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty. Its artistic techniques are quite superb, reflecting the development level of handicrafts in Guangxi in the mid Qing Dynasty, and have important reference value for studying the art of Guangxi ivory carving