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拍品专文
The signature on the present lot, Pingliang Wang Ming diao, can be translated as 'carved by Wang Ming of Pingliang.' Pingliang is located in eastern Gansu province and is the location of Kongtong Mountain, revered by Daoists as the meeting site of the Yellow Emperor and the immortal Guangchengzi.
Little is known about the life of the artist Wang Ming, although he appears to have worked in Gansu, producing lacquer wares of exceptional quality during the Hongzhi period (1488-1505). This is confirmed by a carved lacquer dish in the British Museum bearing the same signature as that found on the current box, and the date 1489 (Hongzhi second year). See H. Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p. 81, col. pl. C, p. 124, no. 60, and p. 126, no. 61, illustrating a detail of the signature and date. Also see Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1976, p. 60, for another circular box and cover dated to the late 15th century, also bearing the same signature, and formerly in the collection of Mrs. Walter Sedgwick. It is interesting to note that on both published examples, and the present lot, the artist has inconspicuously placed the signature amidst the busy elements of the design, as opposed to a location which would be readily noticeable.
A variation on this signature is apparently found on a single-panel carved lacquer table screen in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum (Fig. 1), which was included in the exhibition Toyo no Shikkogei, 8 October-23 November 1977, no. 522, where it is also dated to the Hongzhi period. Another Hongzhi period single-panel table screen in the Lee Family Collection, was included in the exhibition, Dragon and Phoenix: Chinese Lacquer Ware, 24 March-24 June 1990, no. 51, where it is noted that it bears a striking resemblance to the Tokyo National Museum example, the signature of which the authors have translated as "Wang Yan of Pingliang." A third Hongzhi period screen of this type is preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum, both sides of which are illustrated in Hai-Wai Yi Zhen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collections. Lacquerware, Taipei, 1987, no. 82.
Little is known about the life of the artist Wang Ming, although he appears to have worked in Gansu, producing lacquer wares of exceptional quality during the Hongzhi period (1488-1505). This is confirmed by a carved lacquer dish in the British Museum bearing the same signature as that found on the current box, and the date 1489 (Hongzhi second year). See H. Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p. 81, col. pl. C, p. 124, no. 60, and p. 126, no. 61, illustrating a detail of the signature and date. Also see Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1976, p. 60, for another circular box and cover dated to the late 15th century, also bearing the same signature, and formerly in the collection of Mrs. Walter Sedgwick. It is interesting to note that on both published examples, and the present lot, the artist has inconspicuously placed the signature amidst the busy elements of the design, as opposed to a location which would be readily noticeable.
A variation on this signature is apparently found on a single-panel carved lacquer table screen in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum (Fig. 1), which was included in the exhibition Toyo no Shikkogei, 8 October-23 November 1977, no. 522, where it is also dated to the Hongzhi period. Another Hongzhi period single-panel table screen in the Lee Family Collection, was included in the exhibition, Dragon and Phoenix: Chinese Lacquer Ware, 24 March-24 June 1990, no. 51, where it is noted that it bears a striking resemblance to the Tokyo National Museum example, the signature of which the authors have translated as "Wang Yan of Pingliang." A third Hongzhi period screen of this type is preserved in the Los Angeles County Museum, both sides of which are illustrated in Hai-Wai Yi Zhen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collections. Lacquerware, Taipei, 1987, no. 82.