Page 294 - Sotheby's Important Chinese Art, Sept. 21-22, 2-21, NYC

229
A MOTHER-OF-PEARL-INLAID LACQUER
CABINET
MING DYNASTY, 16TH / 17TH CENTURY
231
of rectangular form, the slender, rounded corner posts
framing a pair of doors surmounted by a display shelf, the A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘LONGEVITY’ present or used to enclose a gift. Compare a related dish
dark brown lacquer intricately inlaid with iridescent mother- BOX AND COVER with the same wansui changchun inscription that was
of-pearl, the front doors depicting a continuous scene of a formerly in the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection,
scholar standing on the steps of an elegant pavilion facing QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.
an attendant in the garden, both awaiting another scholar of circular form, the cover delicately carved with a lobed no. 2015.500.1.92). A related bowl and cover in the Palace
crossing over a bridge followed by an attendant carrying a medallion of interlocking ruyi heads centering a stylized shou Museum, Beijing is published in The Complete Collection of
fabric-wrapped qin, a willow tree dangling its long branches character surrounded by the characters wansui changchun Treasures of the Palace Museum - Lacquer Wares of the Qing
over the bridge, all below two recessed quatrefoils at (ten thousand longevities and eternal spring), set against Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 22. A closely related example
the tops of the doors each enclosing a pheasant in flight a ground of scrolling clouds and bats, all within a border was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th November 2016, lot
reserved against a diaper ground, the sides and top of the of sanduo sprigs, the sides densely decorated with ‘eight 3340.
cabinet each with delicately curling foliate motifs, the edges Buddhist emblems’ amongst lotus scrolls (2)
of each panel framed by varying foliate and diaper borders, Diameter 14¼ in., 34 cm $ 60,000-80,000
all raised on a stepped base with a shaped apron, the interior
with a single shelf PROVENANCE 清乾隆 剔紅「萬歲長春」蓋盒
Height 24⅞ in., 63.2 cm: Width 18 in., 45.7 cm; Depth 13 in., Michigan Private Collection, acquired before 1988.
33 cm 來源：
Notable for its meticulous carving and carefully composed
During the Ming dynasty, mother-of-pearl-inlaid lacquer, design, the present piece is carved with auspicious symbols 密歇根州私人收藏，得於1988年之前
with its luminous tones of silvery-white with pale pink and and characters and was likely presented as a birthday
green iridescent tones, was a favorite decorative technique
in the production of large and small-scale furnishings.
Artisans of the period drew upon precedents by Song and
Yuan dynasty craftsmen, and developed the medium further
by enhancing the intricacy and complexity of the images
rendered. Scholarly themes, such as that the present
cabinet, were often derived from Wanli period (1572-1620)
woodblock prints. The relationship between woodblock
229 prints and inlaid lacquer can also be seen in the shared
stylistic features of the figural representation and the foliate
and geometric motifs (see James C. Y. Watt and Barbara
Brennan Ford, East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert
Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,
1991, pp. 135-8).
$ 12,000-15,000

明十六 / 十七世紀 褐漆嵌螺鈿攜琴訪友圖
格櫃

230
A PAIR OF CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER
‘EIGHT BUDDHIST EMBLEMS’ HAT STANDS
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD
each rising from a spreading domed foot to a tall column
bisected by a bulbous midsection and surmounted by a
compressed globular hat rest, delicately carved allover with
a dense pattern of the ‘Eight Buddhist Emblems’ against a
scrolling lotus ground save for the column decorated with a
diaper ground between bands of cicada and leaf lappets, the
pinnacle of the hat rest centered by a metal-lined pomander
chamber (2)
Height 11¾ in., 29.3 cm
PROVENANCE
Michigan Private Collection, acquired before 1988.

$ 40,000-60,000

清乾隆 剔紅纏枝蓮八吉祥紋冠架一對
230
來源：
密歇根州私人收藏，得於1988年之前

292 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10748 293