Page 196 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION
~914
A RARE MOTHER-OF-PEARL-INLAID BLACK LACQUER
OCTAGONAL BOX AND COVER
YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
The top is fnely decorated with a domestic scene of fgures outside a shell can still clearly be seen. The design on this fragment, like the scene on
compound enclosed within a bamboo fence with rush gate, inside the the cover of the present box, is very pictorial. In addition, mother-of-pearl
compound two women peer out of the doorway of a pavilion. The faceted lacquers decorated with pictorial scenes incorporating human fgures appear
shoulder and sides of the box are decorated with foliate scroll and the upright to have been especially admired, based on a comment by Cao Zhao in the
rims are decorated with shaped panels enclosing diaper pattern. Gegu yaolun in a section discussing the mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer:
9√ in. (25 cm.) across, box
‘In the Yuan Dyansty, rich families ordered this type of ware, but left the
manufacturers to take their own time in their making. The products are in
$120,000-180,000
very solid lacquer, and the designs with human fgures on them are delightful
to the beholder.’
PROVENANCE
Sir John Figgess (1909-1997) Collection, Berkshire. The scene depicted on the cover of the present box, although yet to be
Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, lot 15. identifed, could be found on two other published black lacquer boxes inlaid
Mike Healy Collection. with mother-of-pearl with similar dating. One is a square box and cover
J.J. Lally & Co., New York. dated to Yuan dynasty also from the Mike Healy Collection and illustrated in
Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection, Honolulu,
EXHIBITED
2003, cat. no. 6, pp. 34-35. The other is a square tiered box and cover
Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from
with indented corners from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection and
the Mike Healy Collection, 19 December 2002-27 April 2003.
illustrated in East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection,
New York, China Institute in America, 15 September-13 December 2005.
no. p. 129-130, no. 57.
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 14 January-16 April 2006.
Although not identical, the similarity in composition of these three narrative
LITERATURE
H. M. Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pls., 162-64, p. 221. scenes suggest the likely use of a template. The scenes on the cover of the
J. White (ed.), Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection, Healy Square box and the present box are almost the same with very little
Honolulu, 2003, cat. no. 6, pp. 34-5. variation, but the present box, with its octagonal and domed shape, creates a
better focus on the scene for the viewer. The Irving box, however, difers from
The current Yuan lacquer box with exquisite mother-of-pearl inlay the aforementioned boxes in having ladies in the courtyard rather than with
represents the most impressive manifestation of Yuan dynasty lacquer art. a group of fgures with their farming tools and a dog separated by a fenced
The extraordinary delicacy and intricacy of the inlaid decoration, as well yard from the main compound.
as the complexity and artistry of the overall design of the box, makes it a
masterpiece of 14th century lacquer. For further Yuan dynasty mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer examples sold at
auction, see the octagonal mother-of-pearl lacquer box and cover inlaid with
In 1970, a large fragment of mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer was excavated the maker’s name Liu Shaoxu sold at Important Chinese Lacquer from the Lee
from the site of the Yuan dynasty capital Dadu in the west of Beijing. This Family Collection, Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1823, and a
fragment, possibly from the lid of a large box or a tray, depicts the Guanghan quatrefoil box and cover with a signature of Hu Zhaogang sold at Important
Palace (the Moon Palace, which was the abode of the moon goddess Chinese Lacquer from the Lee Family Collection Part III, Christie’s Hong Kong,
Chang’e), and the precision of shaping and laying the pieces as well as the 28 November 2012, lot 2090.
use of colors and the fneness of the details incised into the tiny pieces of 元 黑漆螺鈿嵌庭院人物圖八方蓋盒

(another view)

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