Page 244 - Bonhams Chinese Art NYC Nov 9 2017

180*
A RARE AND SMALL MOTHER-OF-PEARL-
INLAID LACQUER BOX AND COVER
Qianli seal mark, Kangxi
Exquisitely decorated to the domed cover with
a dignitary seated at leisure under a pine tree,
accompanied by a boy attendant presenting a wine
ewer, gazing at a spray of chrysanthemum planted
in a jardinière, the conical box encircled with a
continuous geometric band interspersed with small
lotus flowers, on a concave base incised with a
square cartouche to the interior enclosing seal script
characters reading ‘Qianli’, Japanese wood box.
5.1cm (2in) diam. (3).
£8,000 - 12,000
CNY71,000 - 110,000

清康熙 黑漆螺鈿高士賞菊圖小香盒
「千里」金文刻款

Jiang Qianli was a renowned craftsman specialising
in inlaid lacquer. Although he was traditionally
thought to have lived during the late Ming period,
recent scholarship has dated him more to the
Kangxi period. The present lot shows a mastery
of the skill and control required for such minutely
detailed workmanship, as well as a pleasing
exploration of varied textural patterns and colour of
the mother of pearl. For a lobed box inlaid with the
Qianli mark, see H.Moss, Arts from the Scholar’s
Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.144.

The conical shape, as seen on the present lot is very
rare. Compare a related hexagonal mother-of-pearl
inlaid box and cover, Ming dynasty, 17th century,
similarly decorated to the cover with a garden scene
depicting a boy attendant serving wine to a seated
scholar, which was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8
October 2010, lot 2241.

181*
A VERY FINE MOTHER-OF-PEARL-INLAID
BLACK LACQUER ‘IMMORTALS’ LOW TABLE,
KANG
17th/18th century
The black lacquer top intricately inlaid with a scene
of four bearded sages gathering on rafts floating in
the ocean, accompanied by two attendants fanning
the stove and carrying a zither, five auspicious
cranes in the sky, all above a pierced waisted apron
over a spreading skirt decorated on each side with
cartouches containing phoenixes amidst ruyi-clouds,
supported on four cabriole legs, Japanese wood box.
51.5cm (20 1/4in) long x 30.8cm (12 1/8in) wide x
15cm (5 7/8in) high. (3).
£12,000 - 15,000
CNY110,000 - 130,000

十七/十八世紀 黑漆螺鈿仙人過海圖炕桌

Compare a related mother-of-pearl inlaid low
table, kang, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century, in
the Okayama Art Museum, the apron similarly
decorated with two foliate cartouches reserved on a
diaper ground but enclosing floral sprays, illustrated
in Exhibition of Mother-of-Pearl Inlay in Chinese
Lacquer Art: Focused on the Works from 14th to
17th Centuries, Tokyo, 1979, no.81. Another related
180 (three views) low table, kang, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century, in
the Tokyo National Museum, supported on similar
scrolling feet but connected with stretchers, is
illustrated ibid., no.78.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
242 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.