A CHINESE CINNABAR LACQUER TIERED BOX AND COVER

Ming Dynasty, early to mid-15th century

明 剔紅士大夫圖紋四層蓋盒

The square-section body surmounted by a cover carved with a figurative scene depicting a scholar at ease in the shade of a pine tree, engaged in conversation with the acolyte below him on the banks of the river, the water dotted with small fish leaping from the lapping waves as a crane flies overhead, the sides carved with various blossoms set against dense leafy grounds, the protruding foot rim with ruyi head feet and a shaped apron, the interior and base lacquered black,

12.7cm high

(5)

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PROVENANCE:

European Private Collection of a Gentleman

來源：

歐洲紳士私人收藏

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The theme of an acolyte visiting a reclusive scholar in a remote setting was a popular subject on lacquer wares from the Yuan Dynasty. A related four-tiered carved box and cover in the Palace Museum is illustrated in 'Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum', Beijing, 1985, no. 95. 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.

A related tiered box dated to the second-half of the 15th century is housed in the collection of the British Museum, acc. no. 1974,0226.21.

Compare a related tiered box, 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, lot 260. See another related tiered box, dated to the 15th/16th century, at Bonhams New Bond Street, 12th May 2008, lot 126.

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