(明清早期雕玉壁花草吉祥圖案格子門）This is a rather interesting 17-18th century carved lattice screen door out of a set of four, all have been refinished in protective coats of clear lacquer at both the front and the back.

The entire latticework is supported by small carved ornaments only, including small carved wood dowels. This type of structure, using carved ornaments as weight bearing supports, can also be seen in Chinese furniture pieces, such as the ornaments used in between a stretcher and a tabletop (See photo of table example). Such ornaments not only work to showcase the carver’s skill and to express the auspicious wishes for the users or for the home, but they also work as integral part of the structure, preventing a warp or a collapse through time.

The ornaments here include Bi (path to eternity) with twisted knots, carved Shou (Longevity) character, four petals, simplified Ling-Zhi (medicinal mushroom), and various floral and vegetation designs.

The actual latticework itself is composed of smaller sections of latticework with a common scrolled or key design that is carved in beaded lines with simplified dragon, created by joining small pieces of wood dowels through tongues-and-grooves without nails. In the photos one can see the small carved wooden parts all around the four sides of the scrolled or key shaped latticework that are created separately and joined to the large lattice structure. The twisted knots have a unique look to the way they are created and connected to the other wooden parts.

Price shown is for the set of four.

Dimensions for each screen: 24 1/5” W x 102 ¼” H x 2 ¼” D.

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