Large Chinese cinnabar plaque, Xuande marks

Frame: 16" x 54 1/4"
Plaque: 14" x 52.5"

Davids notes: a beautiful and rare cinnabar panel, probably from the late 19th century period. The detail is very fine and the iconography is unusual, probably illustrating a poem, story, tale or myth that is fairly obscure or lost over time. Condition is good, with minor restoration about 1/2 inch, according to the family. We could not find where this minor restoration was.

The 3 stories illustrated here are not familiar to David Killen Gallery, and we feel they must be from the earlier centuries. The first panel shows a man on his knees apparently pleading for something, the second panel showing an elder or wise man with a stork like bird, the third panel showing travelers on a road, talking with a man who has a bearskin or animal skin on his back, and the fourth panel showing a wise man in a garden with a recumbent animal, possibly a deer.

Good condition overall