Page 33 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

Lacquer carving in China can be traced back
build-up of lacquer layers, the meticulous
to as early as the Tang dynasty. Through the carving of the present dish demonstrates the
stylistic and technological advancements in the craftsman’s utmost precision. In addition to
Song dynasty, lacquer carving reached a peak a soft and well-polished finish, the petals and
of excellence in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. leaves are accentuated with smooth and rounded
After the Yongle Emperor’s re-establishment outlines and carefully picked out with fine
of Beiping (present-day Beijing) as the imperial incisions to simulate veining. Yongle lacquers
capital, the Yuyongjian [Office of Imperial Use] exude an emulation of the preceding reigns,
set up an imperial lacquer workshop in the which can be seen from the ‘sky, earth and
Guoyuanchang [Orchard Workshop] outside water’ diapered elements usually featured in
of the Forbidden City. The most skilled lacquer figural and landscape scenes. It is extremely rare
craftsmen from the south and other areas of for lacquer wares to have floral elements carved
China were summoned to the workshop, which against a diapered ground as seen on the current
was headed by Zhang Degang, the son of one of dish, forming the rebus jinshang tianhua (‘adding
the most skilled lacquer craftsmen of the Yuan flowers to brocade’), an expression not unlike the
dynasty, Zhang Cheng. This period, under strict English ‘gilding the lily’.
imperial control and remarkable workmanship,
Another Yongle-marked lacquer dish of this
saw a rise in lacquer wares so impeccably
form and decoration, differing from the current
executed and highly esteemed that even the
example in the key-fret band bordering its
Qianlong Emperor later extolled it as the most
barbed rim and lacking a diapered ground,
prosperous period of lacquer craftsmanship.
was included in the International Exhibition of
Lacquer wares from the Yongle period were Chinese Art, Royal Academy, London, 1935-1936,
predominantly decorated with floral subjects, cat. no. 1029, and sold in our London rooms,
but landscapes and figural scenes were not 14th December 1976, lot 219. The similar floral
uncommon. Floral decorations included arrangements and proportions indicate that
depictions of peony, camellia, pomegranate, both dishes are likely to be from the same period
chrysanthemum and gardenia. The choice of production. Compare also the similar flower
of subject matter alone is richly steeped in design on a Yongle period rectangular table in
auspicious symbolism as peony is also known the Linden Museum, Stuttgart, included in the
as ‘the king of flowers’, suggesting the wish for exhibition Im Zeichen des Drachen, Museum für
wealth and prosperity. With a thick and lustrous Lackkunst, Münster, 2006, cat. no. 40.
GEMS OF CHINESE ART — THE SPEELMAN COLLECTION I 31