Vietnamese Mother Pearl Table Screen

AGE: – Antique – exact age unknown
DESCRIPTION: – Vietnamese Wood Marble Mother Pearl Table Screen – age-related minor scratches.
SCREEN HEIGHT: – 39cm
SCREEN WIDTH:– 30cm
STAND HEIGHT: 4cm
STAND WIDTH: – 19cm
STAND LENGTH: 39cm
#509
A Beautiful Vietnamese Mother Pearl Table Screen shows a water scene typically seen in both Chinese and Vietnamese paintings. The table screen sits on a wooden base with a marble centre panel.

Two dragons are superbly carved on the top of the screen with a central yin-yang motif in mother of pearl. The screen resembles an open scroll which exposes a scene in the daily life of those in the boat and their surroundings.

Mother of pearl decorates both the edges of the scroll and again on the rounded scroll side sections. The central scene is superbly inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Two carved qilin decorate the bottom of the screen, flanked by what appears to be a Taotie mask in the centre. The screen is supported by two carved lion guardian feet.

The wood on this table screen is possibly Huanghuali wood. Huanghuali wood is considered to be the king of hardwoods. Many antique Chinese and Vietnamese furniture surviving today are made from Huanghuali wood. Most Huanghuali wood trees are found on Hainan Island, on China’s south coast, in Thailand and in southern Vietnam. These are the only areas today in which this wood is found.
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