Page 50 - Sotheby's London Important Chinese Art Nov. 2019

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A RARE AND FINELY CARVED CINNABAR required for each layer to dry, before repeated applications
LACQUER DISH could build sufficient thickness for the design to be
YONGLE MARK AND PERIOD carved, meant that each vessel could take several years
to complete. During the Yongle reign a lacquer workshop,
of oval shape, the shallow rounded sides with a lipped known as the Orchard Factory, Guoyuan chang, was
rim, finely carved to the centre through layers of deep established in Beijing and continued to operate until 1436.
red lacquer with two scholars beneath a wutong tree on Headed by the master carvers Zhang Degang, the son of
a balustraded terrace contemplating a flowering plant the famous lacquer carver Zhang Cheng, and Bao Liang,
issuing from a tall scholar’s rock in an ornate jardiniere, and staffed with the most skilled lacquer craftsmen from
with a young attendant preparing tea inside a pavilion, Yunnan and Sichuan, this workshop produced luxurious
framed by leafy trees and swaying bamboo, with cloud lacquer ware for the imperial court, Craig Clunas, Jessica
scrolls above rippling waves, the cavetto and the exterior Harrison-Hall, Ming. 50 Years that Changed China, British
decorated with an array of flowers including peonies, Museum, London, 2014, p. 101.
chrysanthemums, mallows, lotus and hibiscus flowers, Oval dishes with Yongle incised marks and of the period
the base lacquered black and incised with a six-character and very rare, although two related examples are
reign mark to the left side
Length 22.5 cm, 8⅞ in. known: the first, carved with a group of scholars playing
chess, in the Institute of Eastern Lacquerware, Tokyo, is
This piece belongs to a very rare group of lacquer dishes illustrated in Zhongguo meishu fenlei quanji. Zhongguo qiqi
with incised Yongle reign marks, which effortlessly bridge quanji [The complete collection of Chinese lacquerware],
the bold designs of the 14th century with the delicate vol. 5, Fuzhou, 1995, pl. 21; and the second, with a Xuande
carvings of the Ming period. This piece is particularly reign mark superimposed on a Yongle mark, from the
notable for the masterful and sensitive execution of the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, was included in
scene: the two gentlemen are depicted conversing, their the exhibition Chinese and Associated Lacquer from the
gestures and facial expressions convincingly expressing Garner Collection, British Museum, London, 1973, cat. no.
their ease, while an attendant sits in a pavilion, his arms 43. See also an oval dish, also with a Xuande mark over a
crossed while he awaits for the right moment to serve tea. Yongle mark and with the design in a lobed cartouche, in
A vigorously carved composite floral scroll sets the scene, the Tokyo National Museum, included in the museum’s
while delicately incised geometric patterns, which define exhibition Oriental Lacquer Arts, Tokyo, 1977, cat. no. 501.
the sky, water and ground, highlight the figures and their
movements. £ 120,000-150,000
HK$ 1,180,000-1,470,000 US$ 150,000-188,000
Dishes of this type commanded imperial sponsorship
or patronage, as they were extremely costly and time- 明永樂 剔紅賞石圖橢圓盤
consuming to produce. The sap required to be filtered
and heat-treated before being applied to a wooden core 《大明永樂年製》款
with a brush. The limited duration of seasonal humidity

Mark

48 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.