So much of the novel’s action occurs within the place that it underscores the importance of the garden and its association with ideas of liberation and release. In the garden, our heroine finds a calm and elegant sanctuary from the outside world. The garden is an oasis presented in opposition to the stifling intrigues of the Imperial Palace. In the 18th century novel Dream of the Red Chamber ( Hong Lou Meng), Jia Yuanchun would, upon her first return home since becoming an Imperial concubine, pay a visit to the celebrated Daguanyuan (Grand View Garden). Examples from literature illustrate the way the garden is regarded as a haven for the young women of well-to-do families. The myriad open windows and public pavilions that populate the scenes add to the risk of discovery, possibly heightening the exhibitionist impulse.įor the affluent lady, the garden was also one of the few places where it was permissible to have social interactions. They present the ideal setting for an erotic fantasy, flirting along the boundaries of the internal and the external, in spaces that are semi-covered and semi-exposed the open air entices the lovers to yield to their most carnal desires, and yet the thin screens do little to preclude the prying eyes of the voyeur – a role that we as an audience are invited to play. Gardens repeatedly feature as backgrounds to ravenous lovemaking, showcasing entwined branches and even suggestive rock sculptures that echo the lovers’ embrace. The garden, celebrated in literature as synonymous with pleasure and leisure, was an extravagance only the upper class could afford, and so remained, in a sense, a place of mystery to the masses. Bertholet, an artist and passionate connoisseur who devoted decades of assiduous study to the subject. These many treasures were brought together across a period of more than 40 years by Ferdinand M. Gardens of Pleasure – Erotic Art from the Bertholet Collection presents close to twenty works from the world's most important private collection of Chinese erotic art. Erotic art would emerge as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), an artform that would become widespread beginning the 10th century, coupled with the prosperity and growth of trading cities such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, and would reach its height during the late-Ming dynasty (1368-1644), where manifest expressions of erotic beauty remained a feature in literature or manuals. Such a climate stimulated the development of a courtesan subculture that would become celebrated by poets and scholars through the centuries. Houses of pleasure catering to the predilections of an elite clientele flourished, and coupling of all sexualities and genders had been accepted to an extent. Men of affluence and social standing enjoyed a high degree of sexual freedom, where forms of polygamy and concubinage had been recognised. Not only was it the duty of both men and women to maintain the ancestral line, sexual harmony was also regarded as a way of promoting health and vigour. He act of physical love was an important part of the natural order in ancient China. In advance of this highly anticipated sale, Sotheby's takes a closer look at the erotic traditions of ancient China. The Important Chinese Art auction (29 April, Hong Kong) presents exquisite erotic paintings from the renowned private collection of Ferdinand Bertholet, works that offer a glimpse into the most intimate spaces of a vanished past, and an unparalleled view of sex in the ancient Middle Kingdom.
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