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132 - KOREA, Joseon period, late 19th-early 20th century A rare si…
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Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
Sale commission
Description
KOREA, Joseon period, late 19th-early 20th century A rare six-leaf "Chaekgeori" ( 책거리, known as "Painting of Books and Objects") folding screen, each panel painted on a sheet of vertical paper marouflaged on a support and decorated with a trompe-l'œil composition, imitating a library, depicting shelves filled with scholarly objects: flowering vases, stacked books, writing implements, incense burners, porcelain and precious objects, as well as flowering branches and fruit. The composition is structured in superimposed registers, the middle part simulating drawers treated in frontal perspective, framed by oblique niches containing various objects. The edges of the niches are adorned with Greek friezes and motifs imitating openwork and gilded woodwork, in the taste of Chinese furniture. Height: 172 cm Width (leaf): 66 cm (Significant wear, tears, gaps and lifting of the paper, damp stains on the reverse) Provenance: French private collection, inherited by descent. This screen is part of the Korean tradition of chaekgeori ( 책거리 ), literally "books and objects", a pictorial genre that developed at the end of the 18th century under King Jeongjo (1776-1800), in the context of the court of the Joseon dynasty. Intended to decorate study areas and aristocratic residences, these trompe-l'œil compositions evoke an ideal library of books, porcelain, archaic bronzes, writing implements and precious objects. Inspired by the principles of Western perspective introduced to China by European missionaries, this illusionist visual language was adapted to Korea with great decorative freedom. The objects represented fall into three symbolic registers: those linked to intellectual elevation (books, brushes, inks), those of material wealth (vases, objets d'art), and finally exotic curiosities resulting from trade with China, Japan or the West. Far from representing an actual collection, these compositions reflect a cultural and social ideal, a world desired by the patron. In our present folding screen, the artist skilfully plays on the effects of depth: the angled shelves contrast with the front drawers, while certain elements - textiles, fans or accessories - seem to detach from the surface to reinforce the illusion. This virtuoso rendering of trompe-l'œil is one of the most characteristic features of the genre. With its rich composition and skilful iconography, this folding screen fully illustrates the chaekgeori aesthetic and bears witness to the artistic exchanges between Korea, China and Europe at the end of the 19th century. A very similar folding screen entered the collections of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in December 2025, following its acquisition at a Sotheby's sale in Paris on 12 December 2025, lot no. 98.
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About the sale Furniture and objets d'art
Auction location
Auction time 06/12/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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