BEN JANSSENS ORIENTAL ART

CHINESE LACQUER

BEN JANSSENS ORIENTAL ART

CHINESE LACQUER
8 November - 19 November 2010

A S I A N A RT
IN LONDON

DESIGNS ON CHINESE LACQUER THEMES AND PATTERNS

The Chinese were the first to discover that sap from the indigenous lacquer tree, Rhus verniciflua, could be employed to coat materials to make them waterproof. Excavations have shown that this discovery was made as early as the Neolithic period; some of the earliest lacquer wares can be dated to the Hemudu Culture (5000 - 4500 BC) in Zhejiang Province.1 Over the centuries the simple quest to make objects waterproof evolved into the pursuit of increasingly complex and refined methods of embellishment; gradually Chinese craftsmen developed a variety of subtly different techniques, such as carving, painting and inlaying in mother-of-pearl. In offering a comprehensive group of lacquers, the majority dating from the Yuan and early Ming periods, one focus of this catalogue is perhaps to demonstrate different types of designs resulting from the various lacquering techniques used, including monochrome, geometric, figural and floral decoration. A predilection for objects of simple and elegant form with little or no ornamentation is characteristic of most Song dynasty works of art, including metal wares, ceramics and lacquers. In its simplest form lacquer was painted onto a thin wood surface, covering it in a uniform colour, as can be seen in two circular dishes from the Song dynasty (p. 8) both covered in layers of rich chocolate brown lacquer. Although in subsequent periods carved pieces are more ubiquitous than plain lacquers, the taste for monochrome lacquer did not disappear entirely, as can be seen in a mid-Ming dynasty chrysanthemum-form dish that echoes earlier pieces in form and simplicity (p. 24). Tixi lacquer incorporates thin layers of a single colour lacquer (usually black or red, but sometimes yellow) into the main body of lacquer. These layers are subsequently exposed by carving the piece at an oblique angle to form geometric patterns. This technique was introduced also at an early stage; whilst its origins are not entirely known as yet, the earliest excavated examples appear to date from the Southern Song period. Most commonly seen are variations of geometrically arranged pommel scroll designs, which are found on all manner of objects, including dishes, cups and boxes (pp. 12, 18, 28 and 40). A deep brown or black colour is used most frequently. A miniature tixi cup (p. 12) and a small tixi dish (p. 22) are both covered in red lacquer can therefore be considered particularly rare. Given that the strictly geometric patterns on tixi lacquer did not change much over the various periods,

dating pieces can be notoriously complex and can usually be attempted only upon close examination of condition, depth and angle of carving, regularity of the pattern and the layers of different colours. The concept of storytelling through decoration is a trademark device of all Chinese decorative art, where tales based on contemporary texts or woodblock prints are visually represented on all manner of works of art, including ceramics, metal, textiles and indeed lacquer. Carved lacquer depicting narrative scenes incorporating human figures (renwu gushi), such as a small 15th or 16th century box depicting Budai (p. 32), was first produced during the Song dynasty and became increasingly popular during the Ming and Qing dynasties. A fondness for hidden meanings or play on words is often evident; the seemingly innocuous motif of four lions in pursuit of a brocade ball seen on a pair of carved red lacquer dishes (p. 30) actually represents a subtly conveyed wish for high rank. Figural scenes are also seen on lacquers inlaid with mother-of-pearl, such as a miniature tiered box from the 16th century with its tranquil scene of a scholar in his garden (p. 34) and a small cup depicting boys at play, dated to the 18th century (p. 46). The concept of expressing ideas and sentiments through decorative design is seen also on pieces with flower and bird motifs. Here again, the earliest pieces can be dated to the Song dynasty. Two 14th century dishes, one an exquisite and very rare red-ground black lacquer lobed dish with a single peony flower (p. 10), the other a red lacquer circular dish with a spaciously distributed arrangement of five different flowers (p. 14) are particularly good examples of purely floral decoration. Flower motifs also often carry hidden symbolic messages; among the flowers carved on the lacquers in this exhibition are chrysanthemum, peony, hibiscus and camellia, respectively associated with wishes for fulfilment, wealth, happiness and longevity. The seemingly random distribution of carved floral and bird motifs can be misleading; the artist often juxtaposes them deliberately in order to convey a particular message of symbolic significance. This is nowhere more evident than on a 16th century box beautifully carved with such motifs (p. 26), which carries in its combination of different birds and flowers wishes for a long and happy marriage.
1 Zhang Rong, Enduring Beauty: The Artistic Development And Achievement of Carved Lacquer in Chinese Hisotry

in Chun, Yoon-soo, East Asian Lacquer, Bukchon Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2008, p. 19

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C ATA LO G U E

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Two dishes

Song dynasty, 12th or 13th century

Diameter: 6 1/8 inches, 15.6 cm

Two circular lacquer dishes, each supported on a low straight ring foot, the broad sides extending from the foot at a sharp angle and rising to a gently flared, metal-bound rim. The surface of the dishes is completely plain and covered in a thin and glossy layer of dark chestnut-brown lacquer.

These elegant dishes perfectly exemplify the taste for

unadorned, finely crafted lacquer wares favoured by discerning Song dynasty patrons. The lightness and delicate nature of the dishes suggest that, rather than being intended for everyday use, they served a merely decorative purpose. Their overall form, in particular the sharp angle at which the sides rise from the ring foot, closely resembles Song dynasty Dingyao porcelain wares and suggests that pieces in both lacquer and porcelain were most likely copied from metal forms. A lacquer dish of practically identical size, colour and form is in the collection of the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts in Tokyo, where it is dated to the Northern Song dynasty.1 The Buckchon Art Museum in Korea has in its collection a pair of very similar brown lacquer dishes, which they date to the Song dynasty, 13th century.2

1 2

Kida T. et al. The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, East Asian Lacquer, The Buckchon Art Museum, Korea,

Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, no. 16, page 206 2008, no. I 17, p. 48

Dish with flower

Yuan dynasty, 14th century

Diameter: 6 5/8 inches, 16.8 cm

A lacquer dish of foliate shape supported on a low foot, the flat centre with a five-lobed, upturned rim. The interior of the dish is carved through a thick layer of black lacquer with a single, large peony flower in low relief, surrounded by leaves and buds, all reserved against a bright red lacquer background. The details of the leaves and petals are finely engraved with linear patterns. The five sections of the rim are each carved with a lingzhi-like plant, with the middle leaf shown opened and the flanking leaves turned outwards. The reverse of the rim is carved with a hooked classic scroll, xiangcao, in which a single layer of vermillion is incorporated. The base is covered in plain black lacquer.

The subtlety of the low relief carving with delicately turned-over edges on some of the petals,

the spaciously applied decoration showing plenty of background, and the classic scroll pattern (xiangcao) on the back all indicate an early date for this beautiful small lacquer dish. The colour scheme of black on red is extremely rare and owes its extraordinary state of preservation to the fact that the dish was at a some stage painted over with a layer of black lacquer, which has since been removed. The bold design of a single flower is also most unusual for this period; most 14th century lacquers feature birds as part of the decoration. A much larger foliate dish from the Lee Family collection, carved with branches of camellia, provides the closest parallel to the present dish.1 Another 14th century large black lacquer dish carved with flowers on a red ground is in the

collection of the Tokugawa Museum in Japan.2 A square dish with two long-tailed birds in black lacquer on a red ground from the Irving collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York has similar flowers and also has a classic scroll design on the back of the rim.3 Dating the latter dish to the early 14th century, Watt justly praises the skill of the Yuan lacquer artists in conveying three-dimensionality on a flat surface.4 The unusual lingzhi-like plants on the rim of the present dish are of a type that does not seem to appear in lacquer before the Yuan dynasty; a black lacquer box formerly in the Lee Family collection has lingzhi-shaped clouds5 and a 14th century red lacquer oval tray in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art has a lingzhi border.6

1 2 3 4 5 6

The Shoto Museum of Art, Chinese Lacquer, Shibuya, 1991, cat. no. 93 Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork Chinese, Korean and Ryukyuan (Okinawa), Selections from Watt, J. and Brennan Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, Watt, J. and Brennan Ford, B. op. cit. p. 68 Lee King Tsi and Hu Shih Chang, Dragon and Phoenix: Chinese Lacquer Ware, The Lee Family Kuwayama, G, Far Eastern Lacquer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles,

The Tokugawa Art Museum Vol. II, no. 39, p. 31 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, no. 18, pp. 68-9

Collection, Tokyo, The Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, 1990, no. 31, pp. 88-9 1982, no. 12, pp. 66-67

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Two tixi cups

China, Yuan to early Ming dynasty 14th century

Red cup: diameter: 2 3/8 inches, 6 cm height: 1 1/2 inches, 3.8 cm Black cup: diameter: 2 3/8 inches, 6 cm height: 1 3/4 inches, 4.5 cm Two small tixi lacquer cups, each carved with a design of pommel scrolls. The red cup is of globular form with rounded sides rising from a flat base to terminate in a double rim. The cup is carved with a single register of six carved pommel scroll motifs. An inverted scroll design is carved around the base of the cup, and it is covered in a dense layer of red lacquer interspersed with three very fine layers of black lacquer. The recessed base is carved in similar technique with a trefoil motif. The interior is plain and lacquered black. The black cup has gently rounded sides that rise from a low foot and taper out towards the top to terminate in a lipped rim. It is carved with a single register of four deeply rounded pommel scrolls. A stylised scroll design encircles the base. The cup is covered in a dense layer of black lacquer, interspersed with five fine layers of red lacquer that are revealed where the grooves have been cut at an angle. The interior of the cup is lacquered black and the base is carved with a trefoil design.

The thick layer of lacquer and the deep, boldly executed carving on these small tixi cups suggest that they were made during the Yuan dynasty or in the very early part of the Ming dynasty. The unusual feature of the black tixi cup is the design of the pommel scroll motifs, which are of a more rounded and compressed form in comparison to the traditional ruyi shape with hooked scrolls. The deep, angled carving of the design makes a late Yuan date plausible, but lacquers carved with a similar design were also made during the subsequent Ming dynasty, such as a low table exhibited at the Baur Collection in Geneva1 and a box in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart.2 A closely comparable cup of slightly larger diameter in a private collection in Germany is also dated to the Yuan dynasty.3 The absence of comparable examples indicates that red lacquer cups can be considered very unusual. A slightly larger cup of otherwise identical form and design in black lacquer is in the collection of the British Museum, where it is dated to the 14th 15th century.4

1 2 3 4

Tregear, M. eds. The Virginia and Edward Chow Foundation & Collections Baur:

One Mans Taste, Switzerland, 1988, no. L.24, p. 9 Brandt, K.J. Chinesische Lackarbeiten, Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, 1988, no. 27, p. 73 Frick, P. Chinesische Lackkunst: Eine deutsche Privatsammlung, Museum fur Lackkunst,

Mnster, 2010, no. 11, p. 38 Garner, Sir H. Chinese Lacquer, Faber and Faber, London 1979, plate 54, p. 117

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Dish with flowers

Yuan or early Ming dynasty, 14th century

Diameter: 5 3/4 inches, 14.7 cm

A red lacquer dish of saucer shape, supported on a short, straight foot, the cavetto gently rising to a rolled rim. The interior of the dish is boldly carved with five naturalistically depicted flowers, a peony to the centre, with chrysanthemum, hibiscus, camellia, another peony and a prunus flower arranged around it, amongst foliage and branches. The decoration is spaciously distributed, exposing the ochre ground between the flowers. The details of the petals and leaves are finely engraved. The exterior of the cavetto is carved in similar style with a continuous band composed of the same flowers. A neatly carved band of stylised leaves encircles the foot. The black lacquered base is engraved with the threecharacter signature Zhang Cheng zao. A further fourcharacter inscription in painted red lacquer reads Eisen (or Egawa) tobo.

lacquer, that of Zhang Cheng is found on a number of high quality lacquer wares datable to the late Yuan or early Ming dynasty. Zhang Cheng is recorded as a lacquer carver and is known to have been active in the mid to late 14th century; his name and some of his pieces are cited in the Gegu yaolun (The Essential Studies of Antiquities), which was first published by the connoisseur Cao Zhao in 1388.1 Whether or not signed pieces can

Although signatures of specific artists are found on only very few pieces of Chinese

actually be attributed to the artist is a matter of ongoing debate, but the exceptional quality of the carving along with the spaciously distributed decoration and the absense of a black lacquer guideline certainly make it a tantalising possibility for this small dish. The additional four-character mark in red lacquer reading in Japanese Eisen (or Egawa) tobo (or Yingchuan dong fang in Chinese) was added at a later stage and refers most likely to a previous owner, either an individual or a temple. Intriguingly, a number of lacquers with the signature of Zhang Cheng found in private and public collections are also inscribed with this collectors mark, such as a very similar dish with flower decoration in the collection of the Tokugawa Museum in Japan2, another, larger dish with bird and flowers in the same collection3, and a similar dish in the collection of Florence and Herbert Irving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.4

1 2

Garner, Sir H. Chinese Lacquer, London 1979, p. 61-2 Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork Chinese, Korean and

Ryukyuan (Okinawa), Selections from The Tokugawa Art Museum Vol. II, no. 46, p. 36 3 4 Karamono, op. cit. no. 20, p. 21 Watt, J. and Brennan Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer The Florence and Herbert

Irving Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, no. 19, pp. 68-9

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Incense box

Ming dynasty, Yongle period 1403 - 1425

Diameter: 2 1/4 inches, 5.8 cm Height: 1 1/8 inches, 2.9 cm A small lacquer box of circular form. The domed top is carved through a thick layer of red lacquer to the ochre ground and depicts a single, open hibiscus flower, surrounded by buds and folded leaves with well-rounded edges. A band of three peonies interspersed with leaves decorates the bottom section of the box against a background of ochre coloured lacquer, visible in small areas. The interior and recessed base are lacquered black.

The competent, confident carving of decorative designs through a thick

layer of red lacquer against an ochre ground, resulting in the kind of bold and at the same time elegant, well-balanced floral composition seen on this exquisite little box is very much a feature of early 15th century lacquer craftsmanship, and particularly that of the Yongle period. The edges of the design are smoothly rounded, making the box a delight to touch and hold. The flower design incorporates hibiscus (furong) and peony (shaoyao), both of which are popular wealth motifs in China.1 The Japanese in particular greatly admired and collected Chinese lacquer during the Ming dynasty and it is thought that small boxes such as this, used for the storage of incense powder and known as kogo in Japanese, adorned the altars of the Shogun and Daimyo formal residences. A comparable incense box carved with very similar floral motifs is in the collection of the Tokugawa Art Museum in Japan.2 Another similar box of almost identical proportions and dated to the Yongle period was formerly in the Lee Family Collection and is also carved with a single flower.3

1 2 3

Bjaaland Welch, P. Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork Chinese, Korean, and Ryukyuan (Okinawa), Lee King Tsi and Hu Shih Chang, Dragon and Phoenix: Chinese Lacquer Ware,

Tuttle Publishing, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 26 and 34 Selections from the Tokugawa Art Museum, Vol. II, no. 59, p.42 The Lee Family Collection, Tokyo, The Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, 1990, no. 47, p. 122-3

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Tixi square dish

Ming dynasty, 14th - 15th century

Length: 9 inches, 22.8 cm Height: 2 inches, 5 cm

A lacquer deep dish of square form supported on a high foot with steeply upturned sides and prominently indented corners. The interior is carved with three rows of pommel scrolls, twelve in the outer band, eight in the middle and four in the innermost row, all arranged around a central cruciform ornament. The corner pommels have additional scrolls and the outer two layers of scrolls are interspersed with dots. The exterior rim has a running classic scroll ornament on each of the four sides. The dish is covered in black lacquer, interspersed with two thin layers of vermillion, with the grooves cut at an angle to make the red layers more visible. The base of the dish is plain and lacquered black. Both interior and exterior are highly polished.

mostly either round or rectangular in shape. The steep angle at which the four sides rise on this boldly and confidently carved dish is also unusual; most square dishes are almost flat or have very slightly raised rims.1 Dating tixi lacquers is always complex, but Watt points out that the gently rising scrolls and U-shaped troughs on a comparable box in the Irving collection indicate an early Ming date.2 A rectangular tray with classic scroll borders comparable to those on the back of the present dish is in the collection of the Bukchon Art Museum in Seoul, where it is dated to the 15th 16th century.3 An earlier, slightly larger square tray with four tiers of pommel scrolls and square corners is in the collection of the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts in Tokyo.4

The square format is unusual for tixi lacquer trays and dishes; they are

1 2 3 4

For an example see: Ben Janssens Oriental Art catalogue 2007, pp. 80-1 Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Chun, Yoon-soo, East Asian Lacquer, Bukchon Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2008, Yoshikawa, S. Carved Lacquer, The Tokugawa Art Museum and the Nezu Institute

Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, p. 57 no I-29, p. 59 of Fine Arts, Japan, 1984, no. 16, page 17

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Tixi round dish

Ming dynasty, 15th century

Diameter: 5 5/8 inches, 14.3 cm

A lacquer dish supported on a low foot with gently sloping sides, terminating in an upturned rim. The dish is carved in the tixi technique with two bands of pommel scrolls arranged around a central quatrefoil motif. The dish is covered in a thick layer of orange vermillion lacquer, interspersed with two very thin layers of black lacquer, which are visible in the grooves of the design where they have been cut at an angle. The base is lacquered a dark chocolate brown colour.

carved in lacquer using the tixi technique was first used in China by craftsmen as early as the Song dynasty (960 1279). Tixi dishes carved in either dark brown or black lacquer are much more frequently seen than red, making this dish a rather unusual example. Its attribution to the 15th century is supported by the fact that scroll designs were arranged much more symmetrically during the early Ming dynasty than in the preceeding Yuan dynasty. Furthermore, Ming dynasty pommel scrolls designs also have a smoother appearance overall when compared to those of the Yuan period. A red lacquer dish of slightly larger diameter with identical interior decoration is in the Qing Court Collection, where it is dated to the early 15th century.1 A red tixi stem cup exhibited in London in 1989 and decorated in a very similar style is also given a 15th century date.2

The geometric arrangement of pommel scroll motifs

Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties: The Complete

Collection of Treasures at the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2006, no. 67, p. 95 2 Krahl R. and Morgan, B. (eds.) From Innovation to Conformity: Chinese Lacquer from the 13th to 16th Centuries, Bluett & Sons, 1989, no. 12, p. 56-7

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tixi circular box

Ming dynasty, 16th century

Diameter: 3 3/8 inches, 8.6 cm Height: 1 5/8 inches, 4.1 cm A small lacquer box of circular form with slightly domed top and rounded sides that terminate in a lipped rim. The cover is carved with a bold design of four pommel scrolls that extend over the edge of the box and are arranged around a disc shaped motif, which is in turn surrounded by four identically carved ruyi head forms. The bottom section is carved with a series of four compressed pommel scrolls. The angle at which the design is cut reveals the alternating layers of black and red lacquer. The surface is highly polished and the plain interior and base are lacquered black.

The carving of the pommel scrolls on this box is sharply

angled, resulting in a crisp finish with a clear view of the different coloured layers of lacquer. Watt observes that the sculptural quality of tixi lacquer had greatly diminished by the sixteenth century, and craftsmen were shifting their focus on the overall colour effect of the finished result rather than on the arrangement of the carved designs.1 A tixi lacquer box and cover of closely comparable form with a different type of carved pommel scroll design was formerly in the Lw-Beer collection and is now in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart.2 Another very similar, slightly smaller lacquer box from the Edward Chow collection, dated by Tregear to the Ming or perhaps early Qing dynasty, was exhibited at the Baur Collection in Geneva in 1988.3

1 2

Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Kopplin, M. (ed.) Im Zeichen des Drachen, Von der Schnheit

Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, p. 61 chinesischer Lacke. Hommage an Fritz Lw-Beer, Museum fr Lackkunst, 2007, no. 74, p. 160 3 Tregear, M. (ed.) One Mans Taste, The Virginia and Edward Chow Foundation & Collections Baur Switzerland, 1988, no. L.26, p. 8

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Chrysanthemum shaped dish

Ming dynasty, 15th - 16th century

Diameter: 10 3/4 inches, 27.3 cm

A lacquer dish in the shape of an open chrysanthemum flower. The upswept rim consists of a row of forty-four concave petals arranged around a flat centre. The dish is entirely devoid of ornament and is covered in a relatively thin layer of chocolate brown lacquer, which is partly worn through to the greyish-green base coat. The back of the cavetto is similarly decorated and the slightly recessed base is covered in black lacquer.

Elegant, monochrome flower-shaped lacquer dishes were first produced

during the Song dynasty, their shapes closely following those of contemporary silver and ceramic prototypes. Although most Song period lacquer dishes are of a more simplified form than the present example, the chrysanthemum shape does appear to have been introduced during the latter part of the Song dynasty; a red lacquer example of such a dish, closely related in form and size to the present example, is in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.1 Although establishing the precise date of manufacture of the

present dish is difficult, it seems closer in appearance to examples dated to the mid-Ming dynasty, such as a black lacquer dish in the Bukchon Art Museum in Seoul, Korea.2 A similarly shaped dish inlaid in the tianqi technique with a

decoration of flowers in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing has a reign mark dating it to the Jiajing period (1522 66).3 A further black lacquer chrysanthemum dish, the centre inlaid in mother-of-pearl, is in the collection of the Shoto Museum of Art in Tokyo, and is dated to the 16th century.4

1 2 3

Kopplin, M. (ed.) The Monochrome Principle, Lacquerware and Ceramics Chun, Yoon-soo, East Asian Lacquer, Bukchon Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2008, Gugong bowuyuan cang wenwu zhen pin quanji (Lacquer wares of the Yuan

of the Song and Qing Dynasties, 2008, fig. 1, p. 136 no I-24, p. 56 and Ming Dynasties - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum), Vol. Yuan Ming qiqi (Yuan and Ming lacquer), Hong Kong, 2006, no. 159, p. 201 4 Nishioka, Y. Chinese Lacquerware in the Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, 1991, no. 107, p. 93

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Box with birds and flowers

Ming dynasty, 16th century

Height: 3 1/2 inches, 8.9 cm Length (at base): 5 inches, 12.7 cm A red lacquer box of rectangular format with straight sides, the pedestal base with sleeve cover and fitted with a removable tray. The top and all four sides are carved with different scenes of birds and floral branches. The top depicts a bird sitting on a branch of flowering prunus, whist another bird hovers above it. A branch of tree peony grows among the prunus. The four sides are each carved with a single bird, sitting on branches of crab apple blossom, magnolia, tree peony, and camellia respectively. Each scene is carved on a ground of diamond-shaped diaper pattern. Around the base runs a band of classical key fret. The interior of the box, the removable tray and the recessed base are all lacquered black.

lacquer carving, which often features a painterly style of decoration, seen here in the naturalistically depicted birds and flowers. The purpose of this box with its high sleeve cover is not immediately obvious, but a box of this shape and with similar decoration, is in the collection of the Tokugawa Museum, where it is described as an incense container, giving a clue as to its use in Japan.1 The birds depicted on this box bear a strong resemblance to Chinese bulbuls (baitouweng), whose appearance in combination with peony flowers (fuguihua) is a play on words that can be interpreted as signifying the wish: May husband and wife grow old together, suggesting that this box could have been made as a wedding gift.2 Stylistically and in terms of subject matter, the present box strongly resembles a rectangular box from the Lw-Beer collection, now in the Linden Museum in Stuttgart. 3 The latter box bears what appears to be an apocryphal mark of Jiajing (1522 1566), but is dated by Kopplin to the second half of the 15th or first half of the 16th century. Two further comparable boxes, both decorated with a combination of figures and birds, and both dated Ming dynasty, 16th 17th century, are in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei. 4

The relatively shallow carving on this unusual box is characteristic of 16th century

Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork Chinese, Korean and Ryukyuan (Okinawa), Selections from The Tokugawa Art Museum Vol. II, no. 46, p. 36 2 3 Bartholomew T. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Kopplin, M. (ed.) Im Zeichen des Drachen, Von der Museum, San Francisco, 2006, 7.9.1, p. 174 Schnheit chinesischer Lacke. Hommage an Fritz Lw-Beer, Museum fr Lackkunst, 2007, no. 48, pp. 125 6 4 Heguang Ticai: Gugong Cang Qi (Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colours: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum). Taibei 2008, nos. 74 and 75, pp. 86-7

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Tixi octagonal box

Ming dynasty, 16th century

Width: 10 1/2 inches, 26.7 cm Height: 6 1/2 inches, 16.5 cm An imposing lacquer box of octagonal form supported on a tall base, which is carved with a single groove in the middle. The domed cover has a flat top and is carved with an inner band of four bold, spectacle-shaped pommel scrolls alternating with hooked elements, encircled by an outer band of eight similar pommel scrolls, arranged around a central cruciform ornament. The decorative scheme of eight pommel scrolls is repeated around the lower section of the box, whilst two bands of mirrored, more simplified pommels encircle the wide, straight rims. The box is covered in a thick layer of black lacquer, interspersed with three thin layers of vermillion lacquer, whilst the outside layer is a rich, chocolate brown colour. The interior and base of the box are plain and lacquered black. Both the interior and exterior of the box are highly polished.

The confidently executed decoration of bold, deeply carved pommel

scrolls sets this magnificent box apart from other such boxes. The V-shaped incisions, complex pommels, hooked elements, multiple layers of vermillion inserted into the main layer of black lacquer, and the outer layer of brown lacquer all indicate that this box is likely to date from the mid- to late Ming dynasty. A larger tixi octagonal box in the collection of the Royal Museums of

Scotland is covered in very similarly shaped pommel scrolls in four registers.1 A slightly smaller tixi decorated black lacquer octagonal box in the Irving collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New York is given a late 14th to early 15th century date by Watt.2 A similarly shaped box with a denser decoration of pommel scrolls is in the collection of the Bukchon Art Museum in Seoul, where it is dated to the 15th 16th century.3

Hu, Shih-chang and Wilkinson, J. Chinese

Lacquer, National Museums of Scotland Publishing, Edinburgh 1998, no. 6, pp. 26-7 2 Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no. 12, pp. 57-8 3 Chun, Yoon-soo, East Asian Lacquer, Bukchon Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2008, no I-30, p. 60

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Two dishes with lions

Ming dynasty, late 15th or early 16th century

Diameter: 5 3/4 inches, 14.7 cm

A pair of red lacquer dishes, each of round saucer shape with sharply upturned rim and flat, slightly recessed base. The interior of each dish is carved with a decoration of four lions depicted running around a central brocade ball, of which they hold the long, trailing ribbons in their mouths. The scene is set against a green lacquer background composed of wave diaper. The inside of the rim has a continuous key-fret border. The outside rim is carved with densely scrolling, stylised lotus flowers. The base is covered in black lacquer.

During the Ming dynasty not all lacquer was produced in Beijing, as is often

assumed. Good quality carved lacquer was also produced in other parts of China, and the sharp angles at which the decoration on this pair of dishes is carved, as well as the densely arranged decoration and the slightly darker red colour of the lacquer, all indicate that they were made in the south western Chinese province of Yunnan, a known centre for lacquer production during the Ming dynasty. It is recorded that the skills of the lacquer artists from this part of China were so much in demand in Beijing that several of them were ordered to the capital by the early Ming emperors.1 The lion (shi) is often depicted playing with a brocade ball in the company of other lions, and together they represent a pun on words that can be interpreted as a wish for high rank, indicating that these dishes may well have been intended as a gift for an official.2 A very similar dish with four lions playing with a brocade ball is in the collection of the Linden Museum in Stuttgart.3 A square dish with similar decoration, is in the collection of the Royal Museums of Scotland, as is a somewhat crudely carved round dish in the same collection.4

1 2

Garner, Sir H. Chinese Lacquer, London Bartholomew T. Hidden Meanings in

1979, p. 131 Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2006, 5.17.2, p. 117 3 Kopplin, M. (ed.) Im Zeichen des Drachen, Von der Schnheit chinesischer Lacke. Hommage an Fritz Lw-Beer, Museum fr Lackkunst, 2007, no. 57, pp. 138 139 4 Hu, Shih-chang and Wilkinson, J. Chinese Lacquer, National Museums of Scotland Publishing, Edinburgh 1998, no. 23 and 24, pp. 48 - 49

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Miniature box

Ming dynasty, 15th or 16th century

Diameter: 1 7/8 inches, 4.9 cm Height: 7/8 inch, 2.3 cm A miniature lacquer box of circular form with straight sides. The flat top is carved through a thick layer of cinnabar lacquer with a portly figure of Budai walking by the waterside in a moonlit landscape setting. The barefoot figure has a bald head with rotund smiling face, and his ample belly protrudes from his open robe. He carries a staff and a cloth bag over one shoulder. The moon above him is indicated by a small round dot. A continuous key fret pattern denotes the night sky, while starburst diapers decorate the ground on which the figure walks. A double linked key fret band runs all the way around the sides of the box and cover. The interior and slightly recessed base are plain and lacquered black.

This charming miniature box and cover was most probably made for use

as a cosmetic box or for storing incense powder. It is clear from the number of surviving examples that the private production of small lacquer boxes in particular flourished during the late Ming dynasty.1 According to Chinese folklore, the figure of Budai is based on a Chinese monk named Qici who lived in Zhejiang Province during the Five Dynasties (907 960) and who was considered a reincarnation of Maitreya.2 Budai is generally associated with

wishes for good luck and happiness. A comparable lacquer box depicting Budai, also carved with a key fret design around the sides, is in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Japan.3 A further closely comparable example attributed to the late Ming dynasty was formerly in the Edward Chow collection.4

1 2 3 4

Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the Bjaaland Welch, P. Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork Chinese, Korean and Ryukyuan (Okinawa), Tregear, M. eds. The Virginia and Edward Chow Foundation & Collections Baur:

National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p. 57 Tuttle Publishing, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 191-2 Selections from The Tokugawa Art Museum No.2. no. 105, p. 58 One Mans Taste, Switzerland, 1988, no. L.13, p.8

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Mother-of-pearl inlaid box

Ming dynasty, 16th century

Height: 3 inches, 7.6 cm Width: 2 3/8 inches, 6 cm A miniature three-tiered lacquer box of square section, supported on a low foot. The box has indented corners and a flat top, which is inlaid on a black lacquer ground with tiny fragments of iridescent mother-of-pearl, with a scene of a scholar seated in a garden pavilion, accompanied by a small boy carrying a bowl of fruit. The boy stands at the waters edge where a pair of cranes wade nearby. The fragments of mother-of-pearl are engraved in minute detail. The sides of the box are decorated with scattered auspicious emblems and precious objects, mythical animals and flowers. A continuous key-fret runs around the foot.

surface of the abalone shell are known to have ancient origins in China. In addition to shell, lacquers were often inlaid with bronze and bone.1 The shell inlay technique continued into the Song dynasty (960 1279), although examples are not plentiful, since the Chinese government at the time banned the production of lacquer wares inlaid with such a luxurious material.2 Soft-shell inlaying, which originated in the Yuan dynasty (1260 1368), reached its peak in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty.3 The quality of the inlay

Lacquer wares inlaid with tiny fragments taken from the pearly inner

and engraving on this charming little box is of the highest quality, and reminiscent of the finest Yuan or early Ming dynasty mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquers.4 Miniature boxes are very rare, and no other example appears to be recorded. A much larger box of square format with indented corners is in the Muwentang collection.5

1 2 3

Kuwayama, G. Far Eastern Lacquer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hiroki, N. The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China Featuring Lacquerwares, Yanli, B. Fine Lacquerware in the Healy Collection of Chinese Lacquer in

Los Angeles, 1982, p.28 Ceramics and Metalwares, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, p. 204 Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2005, p.21 4 See for example a late Yuan to early Ming square box illustrated in: Watt, J.C.Y. and Ford, B. East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no. 12, pp. 57-8 5 Kwan, S. Chinese Motherof-Pearl, The Muwen Tang Collection Series, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 54, pp. 164-5

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Lacquer box with lychees

Ming dynasty, 16th century

Diameter: 3 1/4 inches, 8 cm Height: 1 1/2 inches, 3.7 cm A lacquer circular box and cover with straight sides terminating in lipped rims. The top and base sections are similarly carved with an all-over design of naturalistically carved lychee fruits on leafy branches, against a background of starburst diapers. A variety of minutely carved patterns, including hexagonal diapers, wan characters and diamond shapes decorate the individual fruit. The interior and recessed base are both lacquered black.

Unusually, both sides of this lacquer box are carved with the same pattern,

and it visually lacks an obvious top or bottom. Although most probably made for storing incense powder, the decoration of this box interestingly bears motifs associated with wishes for fertility. The word for lychee, lizhi in Chinese, is homophonous with lizi meaning to have a son to continue the family name. 1

The lychee is also a symbol of romance and love, as can be deducted from the efforts made by the last Tang dynasty emperor Xuanzong, who went to great lengths to provide his preferred concubine Yang Guife with this, her favourite fruit, on a daily basis.2 Two closely comparable boxes dated to the 16th century are in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.3 A further example with an almost identical arrangement of lychees on both sides of the box is in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.4

1 2 3

Bartholomew T. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Bjaaland Welch, P. Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and The National Palace Museum: Carving the Subtle Radiance

Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2006, no. 3.19, p. 73 Visual Imagery, Tuttle Publishing, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 54 of Colors, Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 2008, nos. 048 and 049, p. 66 4 Kuwayama, G, Far Eastern Lacquer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1982, p. 80

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Gold painted stem cup

Ming dynasty, late 16th - early 17th century

Height: 2 3/4 inches, 7.2 cm Diameter: 3 1/4 inches, 8.2 cm A lacquer stem cup, the trumpet-shaped base supporting a shallow bowl with flared rim. The stem thickens slightly where it meets the bowl. The stem cup is painted in two tones of gold lacquer on a faux-sprinkled ground with a scattering of insects, fruits, auspicious emblems and precious objects, all minutely detailed. The interior of the bowl and the foot are lined in silvered metal.

A practically identical stem cup from the collection of Sir Harry Garner,

possibly the pair to the present example, is in the British Museum, where it is dated to the late 16th early 17th century.1 Garner describes the British Museum cup as: the nearest approach to a close imitation [of Japanese gold-decorated lacquer] that has come to light.2 The fact that imitations of Japanese gold-ground lacquer are indeed uncommon in Chinese lacquer might suggest that this exquisitely crafted little cup was made in the Ryukyu Islands situated in the East China Sea that separates China from Japan - where lacquers decorated in this technique were produced in numbers. However, as Garner points out, its design is entirely Chinese in feeling and the sophistication of its workmanship cannot be compared to that of the generally much more crudely decorated Ryukyuan lacquers.3

1 2 3

Garner, Sir H. Chinese Lacquer, Faber and Faber, Garner, Sir. H. op. cit. p. 202 Garner, Sir. H. op. cit. p. 203

London 1979, no. 151, p. 204

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Tixi circular box

Qing dynasty, 17th or 18th century

Width: 2 1/2 inches, 6.3 cm Height: 7/8 inches, 2.2 cm A small lacquer box of circular drum shape with straight sides, a slightly recessed base and a flat top. The top has an intricate, asymmetrical design of scrolls, which continues down the sides and is carved through a thin layer of red lacquer, interspersed with two layers of ochre lacquer and one layer of red, alternating with layers of black lacquer. The bottom section of the box is carved with a more abstract pattern of scrolls. The interior and base of the box are plain and lacquered black.

this multi-coloured lacquer box is almost identical to that seen on a larger, early 15th century box, which carries on its base the presumably spurious signature of Yang Mao, a lacquer artist recorded in the late Yuan dynasty.1 The much more angular carving on the present box however, indicates that this is a Qing dynasty copy of such a box. A similar box from the Garner collection, exhibited at the British Museum in 1973, was catalogued as Japanese by Garner at that time, but this now seems unlikely.2 A closely related box from the collection of Derek Clifford, catalogued as Chinese, 17th century, was exhibited at Spink and Son in 1999.3

The unusual, asymmetrical scrolling design on the top of

1 2 3

Christies Hong Kong Imperial Sale 29 30 April 2001, p. 241 Garner, Sir H. M: Chinese and Associated Lacquer from the Spink & Son Lacquer from the Collection of Derek Clifford,

Garner Collection, British Museum London, 1973, plate 9, no. 22 London 1999, no. 6

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Mother-of-pearl inlaid stem cup

Late Ming or early Qing dynasty 17th century

Height: 3 inches, 7.6 cm Diameter: 3 3/8 inches, 8.6 cm A lacquer stem cup, the trumpet-shaped base supporting a shallow bowl with flared rim. The bowl is decorated with a continuing frieze depicting figures in a garden setting with trees, rocks, other vegetation and a fence, all inlaid on a black lacquer ground in tiny fragments of iridescent mother-of-pearl, carefully chosen to reflect different colours. The lower part of the bowl and the stem are decorated with scattered flowers. The interior of the bowl and the foot are lined in silvered metal.

(1260 1368), reached its peak in the late Ming and early Qing dynasty.1 A virtually identical mother-of-pearl inlaid

Soft-shell inlaying, which originated in the Yuan dynasty

stem cup, possibly the pair to the present cup, is in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, where it is attributed to the 17th century.2

Yanli, B. Fine Lacquerware in the Healy Collection of Chinese

Lacquer in Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2005, p.21 2 Impey, O. R. and Tregear, M. Oriental Lacquer, Chinese and Japanese Lacquer from the Ahmolean Museum Collections, Ashmolean Museum Oxford, 1983, no. 7b and p. ix

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Flower basket box

Qing dynasty, 18th century

Length: 1 1/2 inches, 3.9 cm Width: 3 3/8 inches, 9.6 cm A lacquer box carved in the form of a naturalistically depicted basket with rounded sides and a long, bracketed handle. The basket contains an abundance of flowers and leaves, including branches of flowering prunus and chrysanthemum, all carved in high relief in bright cinnabar lacquer against a dark green lacquered ground. The bottom part of the basket is carved with a central stylised archaistic motif against a background of starburst diapers. The straight sides of the box are decorated with a finely carved design of wan diapers. Both the base and the interior of the box are plain and lacquered black.

This enchanting box is imbued with auspicious symbols, not only in its

form but also in the motifs that decorate it. Its form is directly linked to Lan Caihe, the only female amongst the eight Daoist immortals, who is most often depicted carrying a bamboo basket containing flowers.1 The flowers depicted here imply a theme of longevity: the combination of the prunus flower with chrysanthemum is known as the Two Friends of Winter (suiha eryou) and correlates with the notion of long life, since both types of flowers are able to thrive despite the arrival of winter.2 The apparent lack of comparable examples published suggests that the form of this box is indeed very unusual. Lan Caihe and her flower basket are depicted on a variety of 18th century Chinese works of art in different materials, including porcelain and textiles; examples of both are in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.3

1 2 3

Bartholomew T. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum, Bartholomew T. op cit, no. 7.11.5, p. 177 A textile depicting Lan Caihe holding a basket of flower is illustrated in: Little S, Taoism and the Arts of China, The Art Institute of Chicago in association with University of California Press, Belgium, 2000, no. 118, p. 319 321. A porcelain bowl depicting a basket of flowers is illustrated by Bartholomew T. op cit,. 7.2, p. 167

San Francisco, 2006, no. 7.34 , p. 195

44

Mother-of-pearl inlaid cup

Qing dynasty, 18th century

Diameter: 2 1/2 inches, 6.4 cm Height: 2 1/4 inches, 5.7 cm A lacquered cup inlaid with tiny pieces of mother-of-pearl. The cups straight sides rise from a short foot and taper out towards the rim. The exterior is lacquered black and decorated with a figural scene of seven boys at play in a landscape setting, surrounded by trees, and with rocky outcrops at their feet. Five boys fight over a helmet, while two other boys stand aside, one playing with a monkey drum. Different coloured slivers of iridescent mother-ofpearl and small pieces of gold leaf are inlaid to form the figures and their setting. The scene is framed within two thin bands of geometric design; a chain-like pattern at the top, and a band of small semi-circles at the bottom. The recessed base is decorated with a single baluster vase inlaid in similar technique. A thin metal liner is fitted to the interior.

The emergence of lacquerware inlaid in mother-of-pearl was first seen during the

Western Zhou dynasty and did not fully evolve until the Tang dynasty.1 There can be no

doubt that by the time this exquisitely inlaid mother-of-pearl cup was made, Chinese craftsmen had developed and fine tuned their art. As observed by Zhang Rong, the combination of highly iridescent pieces of mother-of-pearl with a brightly coloured tint, coupled with miaojin (the use of gold foil), is characteristic of Qing dynasty pieces.2 This can be seen in a number of Qing dynasty lacquer wares with figurative imagery in the collection of the Bukchon Museum.3 The representation of figures on Chinese lacquers is particularly prevalent among pieces inlaid with mother-of-pearl and the chosen designs often symbolically convey various auspices. In this instance, the depiction of five boys fighting for a helmet is associated with the story of Dou, the educated scholar official who lived at Yanshan during the Five Dynasties period. He raised five boys who each achieved excellent results in the civil service examinations.4 A comparable pair of cups similarly decorated with boys at play is in the Muwen Tang collection and is dated to the Kangxi period.5

1 2 3 4 5

Chun, Yoon-soo, East Asian Lacquer, Bukchon Art

Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2008, p. 81 Chun, Yoon-soo, op cit, p. 177 Chun, Yoon-soo, op cit, no. 1-73, p. 130-1 and no. 1-74, p.132

(tiered box and bowl) Bartholomew T. Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum, Kwan, S. Chinese Motherof-Pearl, The Muwen Tang Collection Series, San Francisco, 2006, no. 4.14.1, p. 93 Muwen Tang Fine Arts Publications Ltd, Hong Kong, 2009, no. 89, p. 238 -9

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