Page 257 - Important Chinese Art Hong Kong April 2, 2019 Sotheby's

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A RARE CINNABAR LACQUER GU VASE 明萬曆 剔紅梅樁花觚
MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI 《大明萬曆年製》款

of archaic bronze form, the central bulbous section rising
from a flared foot to a tall trumpet neck flaring widely at 來源：
the rim, carved through layers of cinnabar-red lacquer on 倫敦佳士得1975年6月9日，編號122
the exterior with gnarled tree branches issuing lush prunus
blooms, the interior similarly decorated with a frieze of the
same design, lacquered black on the base and inscribed in
red with a six-character reign mark
10.2 cm, 4 in.
PROVENANCE
Christie’s London, 9th June 1975, lot 122.
HK$ 600,000-800,000
US$ 76,500-102,000

This extremely rare vase, probably designed as a flower
vase, is luxuriantly carved with a sumptuous design of dense
prunus flowers. The form is derived from an archaic bronze
zun or gu vessel, but it is diminutive in size, suitable for
adorning a scholar’s table.
Prunus decoration is a popular one in Wanli lacquer. For a
brushpot carved with prunus in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
see Zhongguo qiqi quanji [The complete collection of Chinese
lacquer], Fujian, 1995, p. 55, no. 54. See also a small lacquer
box and cover carved with birds and prunus in the British
Museum, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer,
London, 1979, pl. 33.
Prunus was also a popular motif on Imperial porcelain
created at the Jingdezhen kilns in the Wanli period. A Wanli
reign-marked blue and white bottle vase painted with a rich
design of prunus is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated
in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II),
Beijing, 2000, pl. 165.

Mark