Page 188 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

910
A SMALL CARVED RED LACQUER BOX AND COVER
MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY
The slightly domed cover is carved in high relief with Budai seated
on a mat and holding a rosary in his right hand, against two depths
of diaper representing the ground and the air. The box is decorated
with forets on a wave diaper ground.
2¡ in. (5.8 cm.) diam., cloth pouch, Japanese double wood box,
Japanese wood box containing a certifcate

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE
The Viscount Mori Collection; Tokyo Bijutsu Club auction,
7 November 1927, lot 116.
Private collection, Tokyo, formed in the 1930-40s.
The slip accompanying the present lacquer box and cover
states that the inscription on the inner wood box, tsuishu
budai (carved red lacquer Budai), was done by Kobori Gonjuro
(d. 1694). This authentication slip bears the seal of Kinzan,
which is the pseudonym of the Kohitsu family used throughout
generations. The Kohitsu family specialized in authenticating
ancient calligraphies in the Edo period. Kobori Gonjuro is the
third son of the preeminent tea master, Kobori Enshu (1579-1647)
who founded the Enshū-ryū tea ceremony. Kobori Gonjuro also
founded a new school of tea ceremony, called Yamato Enshū-ryū.
In the 19th-early 20th century, this piece entered the collection of
the Viscount Mori.
A similar red lacquer box and cover, decorated with Budai holding
a lingzhi sprig and carrying a hoe, in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, is illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors:
Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, (another view with accessories)
2008, p. 91, no. 82.
明十六世紀 剔紅布袋和尚圖小圓盒

The present box and cover illustrated in the catalogue for the Tokyo Bijutsu Club auction, The Viscount Mori Collection, 7 November 1927, lot 116.