MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Details

**A RARE MOTHER-OF-PEARL-INLAID BLACK LACQUER OCTAGONAL STAND
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
The top inlaid with two long-legged waterbirds standing beside the bank of a lotus pond, with lotus plants to one side and bamboo to the other, surrounded by diaper pattern, all above a faceted waist decorated with shaped panels of rocks and grasses and a shaped apron decorated with foliate sprays, the incurved legs resting on a faceted ring base
13¾ in. (35 cm.) across

Provenance

C. T. Loo, Paris.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lahmani, Paris.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

No other comparable stand appears to be published. Compare, however, the cover of a circular box of Ming dynasty date in the National Museum of Tokyo, decorated with the same kind of mother-of-pearl inlaid scene, of geese rather than the water birds shown on the present stand, illustrated in Hai-wai Yi-chen, Chinese Art in Overseas Collections, Lacquerware, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1987, p. 147, pl. 144. Naturalistic scenes of this type on lacquer were most likely inspired by paintings and printed books of the Song and Jin dynasty period, such as one of two geese from the book, Er ya yin dou, illustrated by J. Wirgin, "Sung Ceramic Designs and Their Relation to Painting", Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia, No. 5, Chinese Painting and The Decorative Style, Percival David Foundation, London, 1975, pl. 2:a.

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