Page 96 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

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PROPERTY FROM A JAPANESE FAMILY COLLECTION

A RARE LOBED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘BOYS’
BOX AND COVER
JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD

the cinquefoil lobed cover nely carved to the top with a scene
of eight boys at play within a walled garden, with four boys
playing musical instruments including the drum, cymbals and
pipe, whilst two other hold up poles suspending wanzi and sh,
with another hiding behind rockwork, all encircling a central

gure who raises a large dish planted with lingzhi and rockwork
above his head, the rockwork emitting vapor which contorts
to form a stylized shou character above, all amidst lingzhi,
peony and pine trees and reserved against diaper grounds, the
sides carved with a register of ve striding dragons, each with
its fth claws e aced, and an undulating lingzhi scroll border,
the sides of the box similarly carved, the interiors and base
lacquered black, the base incised in gilt with the six-character
mark, Japanese wood box (3)
Width 8¾ in., 22.2 cm

EXHIBITED

Kyoto National Museum, 1950s-60s until 2016 (on loan).

Whilst depictions of boys at play and Daoist motifs are
commonly found on ceramics and works of art of the Jiajing
period, the combination of the lobed form and arrangement
of the gures on the present box is rare. Compare a box and
cover of the same form, inscribed and gilt with a Jiajing reign
mark, carved with dragons in the collection of National Palace
Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of
Colors. Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, 2008, cat. no. 95.

$ 40,000-60,000

1950 1960 2016

94 SOTHEBY’S