Live Auction 17457Art d'Asie
RARE CABINET EN LAQUE QIANGJIN
Lot 71PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION

RARE CABINET EN LAQUE QIANGJIN

CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, MARQUE INCISEE A L'OR ET EPOQUE WANLI, DATEE DE L'ANNEE CYCLIQUE XINCHOU, CORRESPONDANT A 1601

Closed12 June 2019

Price Realised

EUR 150,000

Considering selling a similar item?

Discover its value with a complimentary estimate from our specialists.

More Information

How to sell

RARE CABINET EN LAQUE QIANGJIN
CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, MARQUE INCISEE A L'OR ET EPOQUE WANLI, DATEE DE L'ANNEE CYCLIQUE XINCHOU, CORRESPONDANT A 1601
Ouvrant à deux battants sur trois étagères, laissant apparaître deux tiroirs, les portes principales constituées de panneaux décorés en laque rouge, vert foncé et ocre sur fond brun (tianqi) incisée et soulignée à l'or (qiangjin). Les panneaux sont ornés de grues, faisans, paons et d'autres oiseaux de bon augure dans un paysage idyllique, la section inférieure agrémentée de deux puissants dragons pourchassant la perle sacrée au-dessus des flots tumultueux ; charnières et ferrures en métal à décor de dragons ; usures et transformations postérieures.
Hauteur: 170 cm. (67 in.)
Profondeur: 59,5 cm. (23 ½ in.)
Largeur : 132,5 cm. (52 1/8 in.)

Acquired in the art market in the 1950s, Paris.

Specialist note

This present cabinet delicately combines the two lacquering techniques qiangjin (incised lines filled with gold) and tianqi (coloured lacquer). The qiangjin technique was developed as early as the Wu Kingdom (AD 222-252) of the Three Dynasties period (see box excavated in 1986 at Ma'anshan City, Anhui), widely adopted on lacquer wares from the Song dynasty, and was used on Imperial lacquer wares with dragon motifs during the Ming dynasty. While the earliest time when these two techniques were first used together on lacquer wares was unknown, a number of qiangjin and tianqi lacquer wares such as boxes and trays were made during the Jiajing and Wanli periods.
A Wanli marked and dated cabinet of such large size is however extrememly rare. Compare to a magnificent qiangjin and tianqi cabinet, dated dingwei year of the Wanli period (corresonding to 1607), illustrated in Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 202, pl. 172.