A VERY RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER DISH

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A VERY RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER DISH
YUAN DYNASTY, 14TH CENTURY

Well carved to depict a scholar seated reading in a pavilion above a garden where further scholars sit at a table, admire a scroll painting or play the qin while an attendant stokes a fire, all framed by ornamental rocks, arched bamboo and gnarled pines reserved on a diaper-ground, within a bracket-lobed medallion, encircled by a composite floral meander with peonies, chrysanthemum, day lily, gardenia and camellia, some in pairs, repeated on the exterior, the foot encircled with a key-fret border, inscribed to the base, Shen shi jia cang, 'Collection of the Shen family' (age cracks and minor repairs)
12 7/8 in. (32.7 cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

The closest comparison to this dish is another in the BASF Lacquer Museum measuring 32.2 cm. in diameter, illustrated by Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, Bamboo Publishing, London, 1992, pl. 41. Both dishes are carved with the same elaborate bracket-lobed medallion encircled by a composite floral scroll. The BASF Lacquer Museum example depicts a scholar and attendant within a terraced pavilion looking out toward a lotus pond, with ornamental rocks, arched willow and ruyi-shaped clouds framing the composition.

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