A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'LYCHEE' BOX AND COVER

MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'LYCHEE' BOX AND COVER
MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY
Both the box and cover are carved through thick layers of cinnabar lacquer with fruiting branches bearing lychee, against a floral diaper ground. The interiors are lacquered black.
3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box

Provenance

A Japanese private collection, acquired in the first half of the 20th century

Brought to you by

Chi Fan Tsang

chinese@christies.com +852 2760 1766

Lot Essay

Two very similar cinnabar lacquer boxes, also carved with lychee fruits, dating to the 16th century, are in the National Palace Museum Collection, exhibited in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, May-July 2008, catalogue nos. 48 and 49.

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