Page 109 - 2021 March 15th Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonhams NYC New York

PROPERTY FROM THE MEE-DIN AND ROBERT W. MOORE
COLLECTION OF CHINESE LACQUER
116
FIVE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER SMALL DISHES
Ming Dynasty, 16th Century
Four depicting long-tailed birds amidst blossoming and fruiting peach
rising from jardinières on a cell ground at the center, the other with
egrets amidst lotus rising from an identically shaped jardinière below
identically decorated bands of key-pattern, lotus petals and a diaper
cell at the well, the exteriors with scrolling floral decoration.
4 7/8in (12.4cm) diameter, each (5).
$2,500 - 3,500

明 十六世紀 剔紅花鳥圖小碟五件
116
PROPERTY FROM THE MEE-DIN AND ROBERT W. MOORE
COLLECTION OF CHINESE LACQUER

117
A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER
Ming Dynasty, 15th/16th Century
The very-shallowly domed cover, carved in low rounded relief with a
central standing figure of the traveling monk Bodhidharma, crossing a
natural rockwork bridge above a dense wave design representing water,
the monk holding his only belongs on a staff thrown across his shoulder,
all set within a surround of craggy rocks to each side and with trees
above, including pine, the straight sides of the cover and the box with a
simple but wide key-pattern register, the base flat and lacquered black.
4 1/2in (11.4cm) diameter

$4,000 - 6,000

明 十五/十六世紀 剔紅達摩圖圓盒

The monk, Bodhidharma, a semi-historical figure, was said to have
traveled to China from India sometime in the 5th or 6th century CE.
He is considered the first patriarch of Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China,
and while there is some evidence for his historical existence, very little
contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant,
and subsequent accounts became layered with legend. It was said
that he was from a Brahman family in southern India and possibly of
royal lineage and scholars have concluded his place of birth to be
Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu, India. After becoming a Buddhist monk,
Bodhidharma traveled to China

Various accounts from the life of Bodhidharma have become embedded
in the imagery of this saintly figure. After being refused entry to the
Shaolin Monastery, he retreated to meditate in a nearby cave, staring at
the cave wall in total silence for nine years. A popular image in Chinese
painting during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
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Three years after the death and burial of Bodhidharma, an official from
a nearby kingdom (who had not heard of the monk’s death) encountered
the old patriarch walking back to India with one sandal in his hand. On the
re-telling of this encounter, a disbelieving audience opened Bodhidharmas
tomb and found it empty save for the other sandal. This too became a
popular subject and possibly the one depicted on our box.

For a smaller but similar circular cinnabar box, dated 16th/17th century,
see Sotheby’s, New York, 17 September 2014, lot 551. For a later
eighteenth century example depicting Bodhidharma under pine, see
Littleton & Hennessy, Asian Art, London, www.littletonandhennessy.
com, Lacquer, un-numbered.

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