Page 26 - SOtheby's Hong Kong Hawthorne Collection Scholar's Art May 2018

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A SUPERBLY CARVED AND INLAID 明嘉靖 傳周柱製黃花梨嵌寶荔枝圖倭角長方盤
HUANGHUALI LOBED TRAY
ATTRIBUTED TO ZHOU ZHU,
MING DYNASTY, JIAJING PERIOD
of rectangular form with cusped corners, the interior skilfully
inlaid in malachite, soapstone and mother-of-pearl with a leafy
branch bearing clusters of lychee, each fruit textured with a
diaper pattern and the green leaves naturalistically detailed
with veins, the outer rim bordered with a wire-inlaid T-scroll
band
13.4 cm, 5¼ in.
HK$ 500,000-700,000
US$ 64,000-89,500

This exquisitely crafted tray belongs to a group of inlaid objects 本品嵌飾精細，具嘉靖時期雕刻大師周柱之工藝風格，可
likely to have been created at the workshop of Zhou Zhu, a 謂一脈相承。周柱巧用各色百寶雕刻、拼貼活靈活現之景
master carver and artist active in the Jiajing period. By skilfully 緻，裝飾於名貴木材，更開創性營造三維視效，獨具特
utilising kaleidoscopic materials to depict extraordinarily
vivid scenes adorning precious woods, Zhou pioneered a 色。其製品對後世啟發、影響可謂甚遠，揚州多有能工巧
range of beautifully inlaid works of art distinctive for their 匠承其風格。
three-dimensional quality with eye-catching effects. His work
provided inspiration for numerous subsequent interpretations. 可參考一圓蓋盒例，其上紋飾與本品相似，傳周柱製，售
於奧林匹亞蘇富比2003年7月17日，編號433，後為水松
A circular box and cover with closely related decoration,
attributed to the School of Zhou Zhu, was sold in our Olympia 石山房藏，再售於香港蘇富比2016年6月2日，編號42。
rooms, 17th July 2003, lot 433, and again in these rooms, 2nd 另外，北京故宮藏明末嵌寶蓋盒數例，可資比較，均錄
June 2016, lot 42, from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat 於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．竹木牙角雕刻》，香
Collection. Compare also several boxes inlaid with multi- 港，2002年，圖錄編號219至225。
coloured materials, attributed to the late-Ming period, from the
Qing Court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
此倭角長方盤飾折枝荔枝紋飾，枝葉繁茂，果實成群。荔
illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
枝與「立子」發音相近，故含「多子多孫」、「子孫綿
Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn
Carvings, Hong Kong, 2002, cat. nos 219-25. 延」之吉祥寓意。
The design on the present tray, fashioned with a leafy branch
bearing clusters of lychee, is rich in auspicious symbolism.
Lychee, with its Chinese name, lizhi, is homophonous with the
phrase ‘establish a son’ (lizi) and represents abundance of
offspring.

24 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比