CHINA, MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Stylistically, this rare dish may be compared to other dishes of sixteenth century date. These dishes are characterized by the density of the decoration and the style of carving that creates the impression of movement or energy. One such dish (18.1 cm. diam.), described as a typical example of Yunnan work, and at the time dated Yuan dynasty, fourteenth century, illustrated by Lee Yu-kuan in Oriental Lacquer Art, New York/Tokyo, 1972, p. 163, pl. 97, is carved with two similar dragons surrounding an endless knot amidst the scrolling stems of lotus and other water plants in a lotus pond represented by the ground of dense rolling waves. The manner in which the dragons on the Lee dish are carved, their bodies filled with diagonally set parallel ridges, can be seen on the bodies of the dragons on the present dish. This stylistic technique is also seen on the bodies of three lions and a dragon encircling a ribbon-tied brocade ball in the center of a carved red lacquer dish (17 cm. diam.), described as Yunnan style, from the Lee Family Collection, Part II, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2105. On this dish the brocade ball is tied with four bows, the trailing ends of the ribbons rippling around and between the four animals racing amidst a dense field of scrolls, coins and chimes. The same carving technique can be seen on the bodies of four lions on a brown and red lacquer dish (16.9 cm. diam.) dated early sixteenth century, in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, illustrated by Monika Kopplin, Im Zeichen des Drachen, Museum für Lackkunst, Munster, 2006, pp. 132-33, pl. 52. On this dish the lions are separated and surrounded by the knotted and trailing ends of four ribbons "tied" to the sides of a raised diaper border encircling a medallion of a kneeling foreigner on a gold ground. A black lacquer rectangular tray, dated fifteenth-sixteenth century, from the collection of Jean-Pierre Dubosc, illustrated in Chinese lacquer from the Jean-Pierre Dubosc collection and others, Eskenazi, London, December 1992, pl. 17, displays two similarly carved lions flanking a ribbon-tied brocade ball in a similarly dense field of decoration. The catalogue entry notes that "this type of lacquer is generally known as Yunnan ware."

Lacquer dishes with a central diaper medallion can first be seen in the Song dynasty. A black and red lacquer dish (18.8 cm. diam.), dated to the Song dynasty, illustrated in The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, pl. 112, has a diaper medallion within a diaper border set between two raised rings. The outer field of the Nezu Institute dish is decorated with peony scroll.