Page 73 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

This dish is a superb example of the development in lacquer 盤呈六瓣葵花式，口沿及邊框凸起棱線，隨形圈足。盤心圓
production during the Jiajing period. While the sophisticated 形開光內雕雙龍，遊弋於雲海，相對於江崖海水之上，昂首
level of detail is retained, the edges are less completely 仰望祥雲幻化之「壽」字。盤壁、背六瓣開光，內飾鳳凰、
rounded to show off the deftness of the carving. The Jiajing 仙鶴間以花卉、靈芝。足牆琢回文，圈足內髹黑漆，中刀刻
period also saw the incorporation of novel iconographical 填金「大明嘉靖年製」直款。
elements into lacquerware, as motifs celebrating the virtues
of rulers started to appear alongside those symbolising 此盤雕漆風格展示了嘉靖朝雕漆工藝之演變，雕刻精細，刀
longevity, auspiciousness and immortality. The present 法利落有致，雖有藏鋒，仍見鋒棱之美。嘉靖朝漆器紋飾別
dish, with its juxtaposition of two dragons with the shou
character, blesses a long life on the ruler; the landscape of 具特色，除福壽、吉祥、昇仙，亦見為統治者歌功頌德的紋
a mountain surrounded by seas reinforces the message, 飾。本盤之紋飾，雙龍拱壽，海水中央聳起山崖，寓意皇帝
and further symbolises a desire to preserve his kingdom to 長壽萬年，亦象徵江山永保之意願。嘉靖紋飾構思奇巧新
perpetuity. Inventiveness, demonstrated most notably in 穎，以吉祥文字融入紋飾圖案之中，造就了當朝鮮明的時代
the transformation of Chinese characters into auspicious 特色。
iconography, marks the production of imperial lacquer in the
period. 龍紋之雛形最早見於新石器時代的文化遺物中，經時代演
變，漸成為皇親貴冑之標記，倍受尊崇之神物。至明朝，龍
First seen in the Neolithic period, the dragon has come to
be revered as a mythical creature and serve as a marker of 紋已是皇室專利，成為皇權的象徵。嘉靖帝視之為神靈的化
royal status. Used exclusively by the imperial household from 身，裝飾於各類工藝品上，更綴以各類祥瑞花卉、文字，賦
the Ming dynasty onwards, the dragon found its way into 予獨特的藝術效果。
iconography as more than a symbol of imperial authority, but
the personification of the deified emperor himself: in this case
the Jiajing Emperor. The combination of dragons with flowers
and Chinese characters, as seen on various works of art in
the period, illustrates the singular artistic possibility of this
distinctive motif.
For other Jiajing mark and period lacquer dishes carved with
a pair of dragons, see an ingot-shaped example from the Qing
court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares
of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 122; an
oval dish sold in our London rooms, 15th July 1980, lot 214,
again in these rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 118, from the
Dr Ip Yee collection, and offered at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd
December 2008, lot 2127, from the Lee Family collection; and
a polychrome lacquer dish of lobed quatrefoil form, also from
the Speelman collection, sold in these rooms, 3rd April 2018,
lot 3425.

GEMS OF CHINESE ART — THE SPEELMAN COLLECTION II 71