FOUR-PART PARAVENT Colonial work, probably Hispano-Philippine,... Lot 1026

FOUR-PART PARAVENT Colonial work, probably Hispano-Philippine, 17th century. Leather embossed with double eagles, leaves, vines in the form of a canopy, as well as gilded. The inner field on vellum, polychrome painted with hunting depictions, exotic animals in paradisiacal landscape. Consisting of four folding wings. Max. 190 × 256 cm. Cracks, minor missing parts. Restored. Provenance: - auction Galerie Charpentier Paris on 9.4.1957 (catalog no. 118). - Private collection, Paris. - Koller Auctions, 22.6.2006, lot 1091. - by inheritance to present private collection, acquired at above auction. In the Spanish colonial empire, screens were among the most valuable objects transported through the port of Manila on their way to the Old World. In addition to their ornamental function, they also served as iconographic supports with symbolic meaning. In the footnote of the Charpentier Gallery auction, reference is made to Sir B. Gray, then curator of the British Museum; according to him, our screen may have been made in Macao or the Philippines. According to oral tradition, there are two similar screens from the same workshop in British private collections. A magnificent four-piece Hispano-Filipino screen offered at the Spanish auction house La Suite Subastas in December 2020 also features the crowned double eagle coat of arms.