Unveiling the Coromandel Screen: Regional Diversity, Visual Mobility, and Social Lives in China's Coastal Regions, 1650-1750
Project: Research
Researcher(s)
- Lianming WANG (Principal Investigator / Project Coordinator)Department of Chinese and History
- Qiuzi GUO (Co-Investigator)
Description
The project unravels the intricate production history, domestic networks, and social significance of Coromandel screens, a unique form of monumental folding screens that were extensively manufactured along the southeast coast of China between 1650 and 1750. These screens are renowned for their exquisitely carved lacquer surfaces and vibrant colors, and they enjoyed widespread popularity, being traded extensively along the trade routes that connected East Asia and Europe during the early modern period. Despite their global acclaim, the domestic context of Coromandel screens, including their regional diversity, cross-regional distribution, and social roles, has largely remained shrouded in mystery. The project seeks to address this knowledge gap by pursuing a set of interconnected objectives. Firstly, it aims to establish a reliable chronology and assessment criteria for dating Coromandel screens, identifying their places of production, and discerning regional styles; it intends to achieve this by developing an expansive open-access database called “ScreenNet,” which will incorporate data from various sources, including records from European palaces, museums, and private collections. Utilizing advanced digital humanities technologies, the project constructs a three-tiered database that organizes, analyzes, and correlates raw data associated with Coromandel screens in a GIS-based interface. Secondly, the project aspires to comprehend the role of Coromandel screens in facilitating visual communication within East Asia, particularly between China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula. Drawing inspiration from Aby Warburg’s concept of an ‘Image Vehicle,’ the project explores how these screens transported and transformed a wide array of literary-pictorial formulas originating from China’s late antiquity. It investigates their enduring influence across various visual mediums, including Macaomade gilt screens (biombo), Guangdong wallpapers, Suzhou prints, and more. Thirdly, the project delves into the social lives of Coromandel screens by examining their inscribed surfaces. These screens often feature names of commissioners, official titles, and dates of imperial examinations, shedding light on the social networks and cohesion in regions like Fujian and Guangdong provinces. Overall, the project aims to unveil the extensive collaborative framework behind the production of Coromandel screens, which involved various participants from different regions and sectors. The research will address a cluster of interconnected questions revolving around the chronology, visual mobility, and social significance of Coromandel screens, achieved through a tailored networking analysis of a substantial volume of data.Detail(s)
Project number | 9043771 |
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Grant type | GRF |
Status | Active |
Effective start/end date | 1/01/25 → … |