The
Quing Dynasty Chinese novel, The Dream of the Red Chamber, (Hong Lou Meng) is
considered the quintessence of Chinese literary prowess. It is a multi-cast multi-generational
tale of love, karma, the rise and fall of fortunes and the playing out of destinies
through lives.
The
central female character in the novel is an exquisite Lin Daiyu. She is a well-educated
and intelligent woman prone to waves of high emotion. An ethereal creature it
is said that she is the reincarnation of the vermillion pearl (the "Crimson Pearl
Flower"). Stormed by exotic and often erratic behaviors, Lin Daiyu was overcome
by the beauty. Indeed so devastating was even a single flower to her highly sensitized
aesthetic that she was compelled to bury the blooms deep in the rich soil from
which it grew. So rich was life that she sheds a thousand-and-one tears.
This early 20th century, Chinese ivory elegantly depicts the maiden Lin
Daiyu. Swathed in cloud mist robes that are reminiscent of the curls of clouds
on holy mountains, she is perched on an extremely delicate stand that conveys
the subtle ground of earth and mountains. Her coiffure is elegant: swept up with
multiple sumptuous ponytails and a refined, delicate headdress. She firmly carries
a bamboo hoe. In her arched left arm, she balances a basket of blooms.
Private Collection