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PROPERTY FROM THE R. J. S. COLLECTION A Newly Discovered YongleCinnabar Lacquer ‘Scholar’ Octagonal Box and CoverYang Yong, Researcher of the Palace Museum, ChinaChristie’s Paris is presenting in this season an extremely rare and important cinnabar lacquer octagonal box and cover. Of 25cm diameter and 13.2 cm high, the masterwork vividly depicts the ‘scholar’ motif of which the protagonist on horseback is set to go for an excursion accompanied by two attendants, as seen on the central panel of the cover. On the left shows two other attendants dutifully working in the pavilion; outside stands an old pine tree with its interlocking branches and bundles of needlelike leaves scouring in the sky. On the right lays a balustrade twisting along the water. All sides are carved with eight cartouche medallions in every of the four levels from cover to body, each decorated with pairs of chrysanthemums, peonies, pomegranates, plum blossoms, or lotus blossoms against a yellow ground. The interior and the base are brown-lacquered; towards one edge of the left of the base is finely incised with a six-character mark that reads Da Ming Yongle nianzhi (made in the Yongle period of the Ming dynasty). The pigmental consistency of the cinnabar on the cover and the box suggests that they are original to each other. Thick layers of cinnabar lacquer are applied to the overall exterior against a yellow ground, creating a striking visual effect to the raised pattern of the main decorations, whereas the intricate diaper ground that symbolised the foreground around the figures are relatively diminutive. The lacquer is strong and richly textured; its bright red colour profoundly carries a dark undertone. Edges and extremities of the relief carvings are finely polished. Brown lacquer is applied to the interiors and the base. All these features respond to the characteristics of imperial lacquerware in the early Ming dynasty. The floral groups in the cartouches are close in style yet subtly distinctive, bearing a vibrant and intriguing sensation in its composition. According to Ming Taizu Shilu (The Hongwu Emperor edition of the Veritable Records of Ming), in the third year of Hongwu period, the imperial court ordered Zhongshu Sheng (the Central Secretariat) to ‘prohibit the use of yellow in decorating official and civil clothing, so as illustrating ancient emperors, concubines, eulogies and stories of the sages and historic figures, in addition to the images of the sun, the moon, dragons, phoenixes, lions, rhinoceros and elephants. If found, the item must be destroyed within one hundred days.’ The ‘scholar’ motif on the current lot is a typical subject among imperial wares made in the early Ming dynasty. The production of an octagonal lacquer box begins with the application of yellow lacquer to the wooden body, with a switch to several coats of red lacquer upon reaching certain thickness, and subsequently followed by the carving process. Each coat must be left to dry for at least half a day, and as long as two days, before the next coat can be added. The chisel would not go any further once the yellow lacquer layer is surfaced, resulting in discerning red decorations on the soft yellow ground. Therefore, one can imagine the enormous amount of time needed to conceive a single piece of carved lacquerware, unlike the mass-produced ceramics. The construction of the octagonal body is particularly challenging. It requires exquisite craftsmanship to impeccably attain the equal degrees and faultless symmetry between the eight angles, meanwhile scrupulously decorate the intricate cartouche medallions on all four levels. Comparing with the more commonly seen circular two-level box and cover, polygonal types, especially the current sort, attests to the greater skills and attention required from an artist. We went through over 10,000 carved lacquerwares and numerous publications in the Palace Museums of Beijing and Taipei, and saw just a few examples of octagonal boxes dated to Yuan and Ming dynasties, with most of them being the circular and square types. Its scarcity should largely relate to the labourious and complicated production process as explained. For until a dating of late Yuan/ early Ming, an example is in the collections of the Beijing Palace Museum and the Tokugawa Art Museum respectively.The Tokugawa Art Museum example has a diameter of 37.9cm and a height of 18.5cm, with a base mark that reads Zhang Cheng zao (made by Zhang Cheng), dated to the late Yuan dynasty. (Fig. 1. See Tokugawa Art Museum, Nezu Museum, Choshitsu (Carved Lacquer), fig. 131)The Palace Museum example was originally located in the Chengde Mountain Resort, with a diameter of 25.2cm and a height of 13.5 (Fig. 2. See The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum 45: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, fig. 24). Its size, thickness of lacquer, style of the polished extremities and the composition of the floral elements on the sides resemble the current box and cover. Its central decoration on the cover depicts scholars playing the qin; exterior of the cavetto has a knife-carved gilt mark that reads Da Ming Xuande nianzhi (made in the Xuande period of the Ming dynasty). Below the Xuande mark faintly appears a Yongle mark, of which the item is dated to. In other words, both the present lot and the Palace Museum Collection example are made for the Yongle imperial court.It is worth noting that although the figural motif depicted in the Palace Museum example and the present lot relate to clearly different subjects, the houses and mountains on the left, the tall pine tree in the centre, the zigzagging balustrade and the rocks on the right are almost identical, suggesting that they probably originated from the same drawing manual. The Freer Gallery of Art also has a Yongle example (Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, fig. 33) with a similar decoration on the cover, as evidence of the programmatic nature of imperial wares at that time.It is possible that the houses, pine trees, rocks and balustrades on the cover of the present lot may have been derived from a cinnabar lacquer ‘waterfall’ octagonal dish (fig. 3. See Yuan and Ming Lacquerware, fig. 1) inscribed with a base mark of the maker Yang Mao, leading lacquer artist from Xitang of Zhejiang province in the late Yuan dynasty. For such reason, apart from the incised reign mark, the decoration scheme supervised by the Yuyongjian (Privy Purse of the Imperial Household Department) of the Yongle emperor appears to have been developed under the influence of the Xitang lacquer masters from the previous dynasty. To the best of the author's knowledge, the most triumphant example to have appeared in the auction market over the last two decades, is an octagonal inlaid mother-of-pearl black lacquer box and cover dated to the Yuan dynasty from the Lee Family collection, which depicts the Moon Palace banquet for the Immortals hosted by Chang‘er (Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st December 2009, Lot 1823, sold for HK$20,820,000). Carved lacquer octagonal boxes, however, do not appear to have been seen before. This lot is the first of its kind. The mid-Ming dynasty examples include a carved black lacquer ‘Eight Immortals’ octagonal box and cover at the Beijing Palace Museum (See The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum 45: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, fig. 110) and a cinnabar lacquer ‘Yueyang Tower’ octagonal box and cover at the Linden Museum, Stuttgart (See Im Zeichen des Drachen, fig. 50).According to the Qing Court collection at the Palace Museum, the Qianlong emperor often added designated wooden drawers inside carved lacquer boxes from the previous dynasty, with grooves cut into each particular shape, to hold his favourite treasures like small jade carvings and albums. The aforementioned ‘Eight Immortals’ box has held three jade discs. However, the archives recorded that the aforementioned ‘playing the qin’ example from the Beijing Palace Museum was not placed any literary objects while at the Chengde Mountain Resort and was very likely regarded as a mere object of appreciation. It is perhaps also suggested that this lavishly lacquered, high-relief and charmingly shaped Yongle masterwork was prized by the Qing emperors and hence refrained from functioning as a storage box.In conclusion, as the third surviving cinnabar lacquer octagonal box and cover dated to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, this latest discovery reaffirms the indisputable rarity of the work of art, encompassing extraordinary values in all aspects. Its vital academic significance provides a fresh perspective for one to review the transformation of carved lacquerware made in civil workshops during the Yuan dynasty to those commissioned by the imperial court in the early Ming dynasty.
BOÎTE OCTOGONALE COUVERTE EN LAQUE ROUGE SCULPTÉE
CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, MARQUE INCISÉE À SIX CARACTÈRES ET ÉPOQUE YONGLE (1403-1424)
Details
BOÎTE OCTOGONALE COUVERTE EN LAQUE ROUGE SCULPTÉE
CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, MARQUE INCISÉE À SIX CARACTÈRES ET ÉPOQUE YONGLE (1403-1424)
Elle est ornée au centre de son couvercle d'un cavalier et de serviteurs près d'une pagode et d'un grand pin dans un paysage rocheux contenu dans une réserve octogonale entourée de huit réserves fleuries de pivoines. Les bords du couvercle et de la boîte sont décorés de pivoines contenues dans des réserves rectangulaires. Elle repose sur un pied droit octogonal souligné d'une frise de grecques ; accidents et restaurations.
Hauteur : 13 cm. (5 1⁄8 in.) ; Longueur : 27,2 cm. (10 3⁄4 in.)
CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, MARQUE INCISÉE À SIX CARACTÈRES ET ÉPOQUE YONGLE (1403-1424)
Elle est ornée au centre de son couvercle d'un cavalier et de serviteurs près d'une pagode et d'un grand pin dans un paysage rocheux contenu dans une réserve octogonale entourée de huit réserves fleuries de pivoines. Les bords du couvercle et de la boîte sont décorés de pivoines contenues dans des réserves rectangulaires. Elle repose sur un pied droit octogonal souligné d'une frise de grecques ; accidents et restaurations.
Hauteur : 13 cm. (5 1⁄8 in.) ; Longueur : 27,2 cm. (10 3⁄4 in.)
Provenance
Acquired on the French art market, 30 March 1996.
Further details
A CINNABAR LACQUER OCTAGONAL BOX AND COVER
CHINA, MING DYNASTY, YONGLE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1403-1424)
CHINA, MING DYNASTY, YONGLE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1403-1424)
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Tiphaine Nicoul
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