Page 115 - 2021 March 15th Fine Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Bonhams NYC New York

PROPERTY FROM THE MEE-DIN AND ROBERT W. MOORE The Chinese word for ‘lychee’ is homophonous with ‘establishing a
COLLECTION OF CHINESE LACQUER son’, lizi, meaning to have a son so as to continue the family name. The
word is also a pun for ‘clever’, li. See Terese Tse Bartholomew, Hidden
126 Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006,
A MING-STYLE CINNABAR LACQUER ‘LYCHEE’ CYLINDRICAL p. 73, 3.19., where it is noted that from the Han dynasty onwards,
the rulers of China demanded it as tribute. Legend has it that lychees
BOX AND COVER
18th Century were rushed by ‘pony express’ up to the capital (present-day Xian) to
The cover carved in deep relief with a dense design of leafy foliage satisfy the whims of Yang Guifei, the favorite concubine of the Emperor
and gnarly branches supporting fecund lychee fruit each individually Minghuang (713-756 CE.). It is synonymous with fertility, and even
carved, some with cell-grounds, others more realistically, the today, dried lychee fruit are scattered on the wedding bed. It was
continuous design continuing down the vertical cylindrical sides and particularly popular on Ming dynasty lacquerware.
stopping at a thin band above the plain short foot of the box which
is very neatly carved to the base with a geometric T-shaped pattern For an eigtheenth century lobed cinnabar example with lychee carved
divided by small wan symbols, the box with indented vertical cylidrical in three colors to the cover and with vertical sides carved identically
sides which neatly slide within the domed cover to the base of our example with a T-pattern ground, see Chiswick
3in (7.6cm) diameter Auctions, London, 23 February 2016, lot 33.

For a Ming pre-cursor see see Masterpieces of Chinese Carved
$4,000 - 6,000 Lacquer Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, no. 19.
Two very similar boxes also carved with lychee fruits, dating to the
十八世紀 剔紅荔枝紋圓盒 16th century are illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors:
Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, May-
July 2008, no’s 48 and 49.

For another Ming dynasty example, see Christie’s, New York, 16-17
September 2010, lot 1417.

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