拍賣編號
2730
千文萬華 ─ 李氏家族重要漆器珍藏(II)
2009年12月1日
香港會議展覽中心大會堂
明末 黑漆嵌螺鈿贈馬圖長方几
几為木胎,呈長方形。高束腰,開魚門洞,三彎腿,下承須彌座。通體髹黑漆,螺鈿嵌曹操贈馬圖;蓬牙四面開光,內飾雙鳳、花鳥,腿、座飾梅花。
此几嵌工精美,「隨采而施」,人物、馬匹栩栩如生。《曹操贈馬圖》是描繪三國時曹操為了留住關羽,並顯示自己的誠意,將呂布曾騎過的赤兔馬贈給關羽的故事。工匠把這歷史情景生動細緻地鑲嵌在几面上。
此几被著錄於福建美術出版社出版的《中國漆器精華》第229號;《中國漆器全集‧第五卷‧明》第194號。
A VERY RARE INLAID MOTHER-OF-PEARL BLACK LACQUER SQUARE STAND
MING DYNASTY, 16TH/17TH CENTURY
Of square section, the lipped-edge top panel is raised on high waist decorated with openwork ruyi-heads and set above a curvilinear apron, all supported on four tapering cabriole legs, each terminating with an upturned scroll foot, resting on a low waisted pedestal base; the upper surface of the stand is superbly inlaid with mother-of-pearl to finely render a terraced garden pavilion scene, detailed with a figure of Cao Cao offering the gift of his steed, Red Hare, to the seated Guan Yu, all enclosed within a diaper-border, the apron, legs and base richly decorated with flowers, birds and phoenixes
18 1/2 x 16 1/4 x 20 3/4 in. (47 x 41.3 x 52.4 cm.), Japanese wood box
Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, Vol. 5, Ming, Fujian meishu chubanshe, 1995, p. 211,no.194
Zhongguo Qiqi Jinghua, Fujian meishu chubanshe, 2000, pl.229
Tokyo National Museum, 1981, Chinese Mother-of-Pearl Lacquerware, Catalogue, no. 46.
The Shoto Museum of Art,Shibuya, Japan, 1991 Chinese Lacquerware, Catalogue, no. 111
Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period (220-265), he laid the foundations for what was to become Cao Wei and was posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei. Although often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant, Cao Cao has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his officers like his family. Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei, and he played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the establishment of the Kingdom of Shu, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor. There was a short period when Guan served under Cao. Cao treated him with respect and tried to convinced him to stay with gifts such as the famous steed Red Hare. Guan Yu is respected as the epitome of loyalty and righteousness.
Tables and stands of this form have a long history in China, as has been noted by Laurence Sickman and discussed in 'Chinese Classic Furniture', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 42, 1977-1978, pl. 9b with an illustration of a somewhat similarly shaped table or stand that was part of a group of miniature items of furniture excavated from a tomb at Huayansi, Datong, Shaanxi province, dated AD 1189). Compare with another taller example, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, May 27, 2008, lot 1924.