Page 56 - Sotheby's May 10th 2017 London Important Chinese Art

AN EYE FOR QUALITY:
AN EXTRAORDINARY LACQUER
DISH FROM THE COLLECTION
OF SIR PERCIVAL DAVID
REGINA KRAHL
This dish represents one of the nest examples from the
period when lacquer carving in China experienced its absolute
peak. The sensitive, naturalistic rendering of the owers, the
complexity and yet harmony of the luxuriant interwoven ower
design, the impeccable craftsmanship of the carving, and of
course the monumental dimensions of this piece are hard to
surpass. The century or so from the late Yuan (1279-1368) to
the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) witnessed the evolution of
the art of carved lacquer ware in south China from a decorative
craft to a branch of imperially produced artefacts of the highest
order, in parallel to a similar development of Chinese blue-
and-white porcelain. The escalation of skills at the respective
workshops allowed the Yongle Emperor (r. 1403-1424) to exploit
both porcelain and lacquer ware as a means of diplomatic
exchange. Lacquer ware of this period is, however, in nitely
rarer than contemporary porcelain, because its laborious
manufacturing process does not lend itself to series production,
but is dependent on the ability of individual craftsmen. We
therefore know the names of some lacquer carvers from that
period, even though it remains di cult to attribute works to
their hands.
Like with porcelain, it was in the Yuan dynasty that dishes scholars so far have been reluctant to attribute any pieces
of such massive size began to be created, and they continued
to be produced to imperial order until the Xuande reign (1426-
1435), but thereafter monumental works of this kind were
practically abandoned. Equally, the superb thick lacquer layer
assembled for this dish from numerous individual coatings was
only rarely recreated in later periods. The soft, well-polished
nish and the smooth, rounded outlines of the various motifs
are also characteristic of the wares created at that time; the
54 SOTHEBY’S
exuberance and complexity of the present design, however,
are exceptional. About a dozen di erent plants with carefully
matched blooms and leaves are most intricately interlaced, with
stems passing under and over leaves, sometimes with three
elements superimposed upon one another, the whole carefully
laid out and neatly lling all available space while still revealing
yellow ground throughout – all contributing to evoke a lush
garden in bloom.
On the base, the present dish bears the needle-engraved
signature Zhang Cheng zao (‘made by Zhang Cheng’). Zhang
Cheng is known from the Gegu yaolun [The Essential Criteria
of Antiquities] by Cao Zhao of 1388, where he and Yang Mao,
both of Xitang in Jiaxing district, Zhejiang province, southwest
of modern Shanghai, are mentioned as carvers of red lacquer
who became famous at end of the Yuan dynasty (Sir Percival
David 1971, p.146 and p. 303, g. 42a). While a number of ne
pieces with their respective signatures are preserved, Yang Mao,
according to Wang Shixiang “does not seem to measure up to
Zhang in craftsmanship” (Wang 1987, p. 18). Unfortunately, even
the Gegu yaolun already talks of imitations, and Zhang Cheng
inscriptions were certainly also added to later works; therefore
directly to his hand or even to try to identify his style.
One of the few lacquer pieces repeatedly published as
being carved by Zhang Cheng is a small dish with gardenia
design from the Qing court collection in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties,
Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 3; and a box and cover with Zhang
Cheng signature and a further inscription in pagspa, the Yuan