Wooden Gold-Gilt Bedfront Carving

In the middle of this carving is a large peony with a pair of phoenixes on both sides, phoenix is known as the “king of birds” while peony is the “king of flowers”, this combination is extremely auspicious & symbolize prosperity, bright future and happiness. Squirrels and grapes, a common theme in paintings & carvings, are seen throughout the carving, both are known for their ability to multiply which means a desire to have many (generations of) children. From this we can guess this belonged to the bed of a newly wed couple. The Chinese name for squirrels is 松鼠 (sōng shǔ), the second word sounds the same as “count” in Chinese (数 shǔ), so squirrels also mean wealth as you will always have money to count.

The back of this carving is plain and in a dark colour like the borders. Overall dimensions = L211 x H166cm. The opening in the middle is 137cm wide, and the height of the middle section of the carving is 36cm.