Page 66 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

Incense Box
....................................................................................
Yuan 14th
dynasty, century
carved lacquer (tixt)
Diam. 5 in. (12.7 cm)
H. O. Havemeyer
Collection,
1929
Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer,
1929.100.713

Round Box with scroll
Design
....................................................................................
Late Yuan to early Ming dynasty, century
late 14th
Carved
lacquer (tixt)
Diam. 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm)
Lent Florence and Herbert
Irving
by

lacquer
A type of carved known as tixi
was well established the Southern
by
Song dynasty and remained popular during
the Yuan and the Ming dynasties. The pre-
dominant decorative motif of tixi lacquer is
a scroll pattern-sometimes called pommel
scroll (see p. 38)-carved in either black or
red lacquer. Thin layers of black interspersed
within the red, as seen in the examples illus-
trated here, subtly enhance the rhythm of the
scrolls. A similar effect is created thin red
by
layers within black.
Yuan work-
The incense box, demonstrating
manship and creativity, is adorned with four
a
dynamic pommel scrolls encircling quatre-
foil on its lid. The scrollwork arranged on the
narrow band on the sides, though simple in
is
shape, charged with vitality. The large round
box, at least half a century later in date, lacks
the sculptural energy so abundantly displayed
on the smaller example. The relief scrolls,
which enclose a six-cornered motif in the cen-
ter of the lid, fill concentric bands repeated
across the large box. However, the high quality
of the red lacquer and the workmanship are
noteworthy and are the grounds for giving it
a relatively early date. WAS

65