A CHINESE CINNABAR LACQUER TIERED BOX AND COVER

Ming Dynasty, early 15th Century

The square-section body surmounted by a cover carved with a scholar and his attendant visiting a recluse in a terraced pavilion, the landscape decorated with banana leaves and an overhanging pine tree sprouting from behind rocky outcrops, the sides carved with four types of blossoming flowers including peonies and chrysanthemums set against dense leafy grounds, the protruding foot rim with ruyi head feet and a shaped apron, the interior and base black-lacquered,

16.5cm high (4)

明十五世紀早期 剔紅人物故事圖紋三層蓋盒

Note: The ‘recluse’ is a revered and time-honoured motif in Chinese art, this recluse often appearing as the smallest speck in a remote pavilion nestled in the mountains of a vast landscape painting, or as a solitary fisherman sat on the banks of a river under the light of the moon. This timeless concept stirs the sense of longing for nature and isolation we all share. The fall of the Ming Dynasty produced many famous recluses; the collapse of the empire in the 17^th century saw several loyal Ming officials and princes hide away in remote temples in the mountains, choosing new names as they became monks. Some view these behaviours as acts of resistance against the new order, an argument strengthened by the defiant, politically-charged paintings by artists such as Bada Shanren.

The ‘visiting a recluse’ theme is one often explored in the medium of carved cinnabar lacquer produced the Ming Dynasty. On the cover of the present lot we see a scholar-official dressed in long flowing robes walking down a secluded path, his attendant following closely behind with an object tucked under his arm, possibly a guqin. The figure is presumably visiting this recluse to further his own scholarly education, seeking debate and wisdom from this learned hermit.

Compare a tiered box with slightly-rounded edges, dated to the 16^th century, sold at Christie’s South Kensington, Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles Part I, 4^th November 2014, 260. Also see a hexagonal tiered box offered at Sotheby’s London, Important Chinese Art, 6^th November 2019, lot 141. A quadrilobed tiered box dated to the 15^th-16^th century, from the James Cromar Watt Bequest (1941), is in the Aberdeen City Collection, currently stored in the Aberdeen Treasure Hub, object number ABDMS024884.

A comparable tiered box, dated to the 14th century, is housed in the collection of the Shanghai Museum and illustrated in 'In a Myriad of Forms: The Ancient Chinese Lacquers', Shanghai, 2018, p.110, no.066.

Please login or create an account to view/request condition reports