A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT OCTAGONAL INLAID MOTHER-OF-PEARL LACQUER BOX AND COVER

A RARE AND EXQUISITE YUAN DYNASTY MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID LACQUER BOX ROSEMARY SCOTT - INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, ASIAN ART The current Yuan lacquer box with exquisite mother-of-pearl inlay represents the most impressive manifestation of Yuan dynasty lacquer art. The extraordinary delicacy and intricacy of the inlaid decoration as well as the complexity and artistry of the overall design of the box makes it a masterpiece of 14th century lacquer. The inlay of shell into lacquer has a long history in China, but many connoisseurs would argue that it reached a peak in the Yuan dynasty, and this box certainly supports that view. Even in the early Bronze Age lacquer was used not only to give a glossy and protective covering to carved wood, but was also used to allow specially-shaped pieces of shell and bone to be inlaid into the design. The remains of this type of inlay have been excavated at the royal Shang dynasty tombs at Xibeigang, Anyang dating to the 12th-11th century BC.(1) In the later Bronze Age, lacquer inlays were more frequently cut from metal foil, but the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) saw a resurgence of shell inlays on lacquered items. Tang so-called luodian lacquer with mother-of-pearl inlay is particularly associated with luxury items such as mirrors, sutra boxes, and musical instruments. On these, relatively large pieces of, primarily white, mother-of-pearl were used to create the design, and details were incised into the surface of the shell using a fine point. Coral and semi-precious stones were also occasionally incorporated into these designs. The mother-of-pearl used for Tang dynasty lacquer wares comes from the shell of the marine gastropods turbo cornutus (commonly known as horned turban) or turbo marmoratus (commonly known as marbled turban). Mirrors with this type of inlaid mother-of-pearl-decoration have been found in a number of Tang dynasty elite tombs.(2) A group of Tang dynasty musical instruments decorated with inlaid mother-of-pearl are preserved in the Shoso-in imperial repository in the grounds of the Todaiji Monastery in Nara, Japan.(3) The treasures of the Shoso-in were deposited there by the widow of the emperor Shomu after his death in AD 756. The technique of inlays using relatively large pieces of mother-of-pearl was also continued into the Five Dynasties and Song periods, as can be seen from sutra boxes excavated from several pagodas.(4) However at some time during the Song dynasty a new style of mother-of-pearl inlay was adopted. This style moved away from the use of large, thick, white, pieces of shell and employed tiny, thin pieces of multi-coloured shell to build up detailed designs. This shell came from the inner layer of the haliotis (abalone) shell and is thinner and more iridescently colourful than the Tang mother-of-pearl. The technique employing this more delicate style of inlay is usually referred to in the West as laque burgautei. Wang Shixiang has noted that in the 1950s Beijing lacquerers referred to the thick shell inlays, like those of the Tang dynasty, as 'hard mother-of-pearl' and the thin shell inlays, introduced in the Song dynasty, as 'soft mother-of-pearl'.(5) The use of this latter technique is documented as being used on Song dynasty furniture, and can be seen in paintings attributed to the 12th century painter Su Hanchen (active 1130s - 1160s), such as his hanging scroll of Children Playing in an Autumn Garden in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, where the children's toys have been placed on lacquered stools apparently decorated using this technique (fig. 1).(6) The Southern Song writer Zhou Mi (1232-98) records gifts from Wang Su to the Southern Song prime minister Jia Sidao (1217-75) of ten table screens decorated with inlaid mother-of-pearl to illustrate important events in Jia Sidao's life, with citations. It has been suggested that this could only have been accomplished using the smaller, thinner pieces of shell from the haliotis. (7) To date very little excavated evidence has been forthcoming for Song/Jin lacquers of this type, except for a circular box with floral decoration found in a burial dated to 1262 at Datong, Shanxi province. (8) However, a tiered, lobed, lacquer box in the Eisei Bunko Museum of Art in Tokyo has been dated to the Song dynasty, at least in part because of the similarity of its floral scrolls to those in the Su Hanchen painting. (9) Certainly the technique of using this type of shell must have been well established by the Yuan dynasty in view of the extraordinarily accomplished pieces, such as the current box, which were made at that time. A number of the finest of the few surviving Yuan dynasty mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes, such as the current example, have twisted metal (often pewter) wire inlaid along the edges -sometimes framing the upper panel but also reinforcing the edges and preventing damage. Such fine mother-of-pearl boxes would have been extremely precious items in the Yuan dynasty and the wires would have been intended to serve a protective, as well as a decorative, function. There are records describing Song lacquers with metal wire,(10) but its use seems to have been particularly applied to fine Yuan dynasty boxes. Another of the significant features of the current box is the fact that it bears the name of the craftsman who made it. The characters Liu Shaoxu zuo (made by Liu Shaoxu) are incised into the lacquer on the left-hand side of the lid. The 14th century seems to have marked the first period in which lacquer artists put their names to their work. In most cases Chinese craftsmen through the ages have been anonymous, but so great was the prestige of some Yuan lacquer artists that they signed their work, and some are also mentioned in contemporary and early Ming literature. Those artists whose signed work is most well-known are Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao from Zhejiang, who were pupils of Yang Hui in Xitang, and who are mentioned in the Gegu yaolun. (11) These lacquer artists, however, were known for their carved lacquer, rather than for mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer. Far fewer signed examples of the latter type are known. To date seven mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquers are known which bear the names of the artists who made them, and three of those include the area of Ji'an fu in Jiangxi province as the place of origin. In the 1462 extended edition of the Gegu yaolun Wang Zuo, in his commentary, notes that during the Song and Yuan dynasties inlaid mother-of-pearl lacquers were made in Luling xian, Ji'an fu in Jiangxi province. (12) In the Yuan Shi one section notes that in 1332 mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer furniture for the powerful General Yan Tiemu'er was also made in Jiangxi province.(13) There is a Yuan dynasty mother-of-pearl inlaid lobed box on the top of which is a scene showing Li Bai's revenge of palace official, which was exhibited in Hong Kong in 1993.(14) On this box the name of the lacquer artist is inscribed on the column of the building on the right of the scene. On the pillar is written Luling Hu Zhaogang tiebi (inscribed by Hu Zhaogang of Luling). A table screen sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th November 2005, lot 1460, which depicts celebrating scholars passing under gates in procession, also bore the inscription Ji'anfu Lulingxian Guo Xianzhang jisi ji xia (Recorded in the summer of the jisi year by Guo Xianzhang of Luling county, Ji'an prefecture) incised into balustrades. The cyclical jisi year probably refers to AD 1329. This date is also incised on one of the banners in the scene, along with the title Zhuang Yuan, which was given to the highest graduate of the Hanlin Academy. There are certain aspects of the design on the current box which suggest that it too may have been made in Luling county, Ji'an prefecture, or at least in Jiangxi province. One of those features is the form of the descending willow branches. While willow trees were often incorporated into the designs of mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquers, the branches on the lid of the current box, the lobed box from Luling, and the table screen from Luling are distinctive in that the end of the branches curve gently outwards. This graceful detail suggests the movement of the willow branches in the wind. Another possible clue to the region in which the current box was produced is the turbulent wave design, which appears above the main entrance to the palace on the top of the lid of the box. This wave design, which also decorated a table on one side of the fine Yuan dynasty square mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer seal box, sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 27th May 2009, lot 1906, can be linked to designs which appear on ceramics painted in iron brown made at the Jizhou kilns of Jiangxi province in the latter part of the 13th century, and the underglaze-blue decorated porcelains made at Jingdezhen in Jaingxi province in the mid-14th century. Only three of the published Yuan dynasty mother-of-pearl lacquer wares have dated inscriptions - the table screen mentioned above, and two others. The second of these is a low table from a private collection, which was exhibited at the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo in their exhibition The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China - Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares, Tokyo, 2004, no. 126. This table, the top of which is decorated with a busy scene of pavilions, lotus pond, deer and travellers, all in a landscape setting, has an inscription incised into one of the banisters giving a cyclical date of the xinchou year, which probably refers to AD 1301. An exhibition in the Tokyo National Museum in 1981, entitled Chugoku no Raden (Chinese Inlaid Mother-of-pearl Lacquer), included as exhibit no. 15 a square Yuan dynasty lacquer box from a private collection, which was decorated with a scene showing children and a lady playing the qin in a garden. This box bears the inscription Wuwu Jun Bo zhi (made by Jun Bo in the wuwu year). The cyclical date of the wuwu year, probably refers to AD 1318. The much-published rectangular stationery box from the Lee Family Collection, sold at Christie's Hong Kong in December 2008, lot 2113, which is decorated on the top with a lively procession descending a hill, bears the inscription Luotian jiang Yin Junhua (Mother-of-pearl inlay craftsman Yin Junhua) incised into one of the balustrades. The square seal box mentioned above, which is decorated with horses and scholars in landscape, also bears the name of the craftsman who made it. On one balustrade is inscribed (made by Zhou Tong), while the characters Bo Xuan Li appear on another balustrade. The name of the craftsman also appears in an inscription on a circular box in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, which was included as exhibit no. 14 in the exhibition of Chinese inlaid mother-of-pearl lacquer held at the museum in 1981. In fact this box bears two inscriptions, one reading Tiebi Xiao Zhen (Inscribed by Xiao Zhen), and the other Wenliang Wang Shuheng gong (A tribute from Wang Xiaoheng of Wenliang). In 1970 a large fragment of mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer was excavated from the site of the Yuan dynasty capital Dadu in the west of Beijing. This fragment, possibly from the lid of a large box or a tray, depicts the Guanghan Palace (the Moon Palace, which was the abode of the moon goddess Chang'e), and the precision of shaping and laying the pieces as well as the use of colours and the fineness of the details incised into the tiny pieces of shell can still clearly be seen. The design on this fragment, like those on the other Yuan dynasty mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer items mentioned above, is very pictorial, and it is interesting to note a comment by Huang Cheng in the Xiu shi lu where he notes: 'The greater the care taken over the details to achieve a resemblance to painting the better. The fact that there are differences in colour in different shells is sometimes exploited by using them in different parts of the design.'(15) In respect of the decoration on the fragment from Dadu, it is also worth noting not only that the choice of location for the scene is the same as that on the top of the lid of the current box - the Guanghan Palace - but that there are some strong similarities between aspects of the architecture of the palace depicted on the fragment and that of the palace on the top of the lid of the box. Mother-of-pearl lacquers decorated with scenes incorporating human figures appear to have been especially admired, and it is significant that in the Gegu yaolun section on mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer it says: 'In the Yuan Dyansty, rich families ordered this type pf ware, but left the manufacturers to take their own time in their making. The products are in very solid lacquer, and the designs with human figures on them are delightful to the beholder.'(16) A wealth of figures are depicted on the current box - not only on the top of the lid, but also in cartouches around the sides of both the box and lid. On the sides of the lid the cartouches with human figures alternate with those containing birds and flowers, while on the sides of the lower part of the box the cartouches with human figures alternate with cartouches containing deer. A number of the figures incorporated into the design on this box can be identified as coming from Chinese history, mythology, or literature, but the majority are linked to Daoism. On the top of the box a host of Daoist immortals are shown in a garden in front of the Guanghan palace. To the left three senior female immortals ride on phoenixes towards an altar. Each phoenix has different, elaborate, tail feathers. One of these female immortals probably represents Chang'e, who is regarded as the Goddess of the Moon. There are many versions of the story of how she came there, but all the stories involve her husband, the archer Yi, who saved the earth by shooting down the additional suns that were burning it up, and from whom some stories say she stole the elixir of immortality. She was believed to live on the moon with a white hare, which pounded the elixir of immortality with a pestle and mortar, and with the woodcutter Wu Gang, who was condemned to stay on the moon until he could chop down a magically regenerating osmanthus tree. Another of the female immortals is likely to represent Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West, in whose garden grew the peaches of immortality. In view of the fact that the waves from the sea appear in the lower right of the scene, it is possible that the third female immortal is supposed to represent Mazu, the Daoist Goddess of the Sea. Her mortal name was Lin Moniang, named because as a child she never cried, who was reputedly born in AD 960. She was believed to have saved her fishermen father and brother from perishing in a typhoon at sea, and came to be regarded as the goddess who protects fishermen and sailors. The goddesses are shown each accompanied by a female attendant carrying a banner, and being entertained by a band of eight female musicians. In the rest of the scene a priest approaches the altar from the other side carrying an lighted incense burner. At the top right of the panel Shou Lao, the Star God of Longevity floats towards them on a cloud, while below him the group known as the Eight Daoist Immortals approach on foot from the right. The scene suggests an important Daoist ritual or celebration. In one of the cartouches on the sides of the lid a regal figure is shown approaching a door to a rustic cottage, where he is greeted by a servant. Through a window a scholarly figure can be seen reading a book (fig. 2). This scene is from San Gu Mao Lu (Three Visits to the Thatched Hut), which is one of the episodes from the San Guo Zhi Yan Yi (The Romance of the Three Kingdoms). In this episode three visits are made to Zhuge Liang in order to persuade him to support Prince Liu Bei, the ruler of the kingdom of Shu, in his struggle against Cao Cao, ruler of the kingdom of Wei. Twice Liu Bei is turned away from the thatched hut, but on the third occasion Zhuge Liang agrees to help him, as he has proved his enlightenment and determination. Another of the cartouches on the sides of the lid shows three men approaching a fourth man who is fishing on the river bank (fig. 3). The man fishing is Jiang Ziya, a military strategist who left the service of the Shang King because of the latter's debauchery and corruption. He sat fishing by the Wei River with an unbarbed hook, or even no hook at all, waiting for the day that a virtuous ruler would come and seek his assistance. It was not until he was eighty years old that King Wen of Zhou, who followed the advice of his ancestors and sought out talented advisors, found Jiang Ziya. As the king talked to the old man he realised that he was a remarkable political thinker and military strategist, and so he persuaded him to ride back to court in his own coach and appointed him prime minister. The king gave Jiang Ziya the title Jiang Taigong Wang (Great Duke Hope). This story was later adapted and incorporated into the Ming dynasty novel Fengshen yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods). Another of the cartouches on the sides of the lid shows a simply dressed man leading a water buffalo and being approached by two richly dressed men, one of whom is trying to present a tablet to the man leading the buffalo (fig. 4). The man with the buffalo is Xu You, a wise but reclusive man from Huaili in Yang Cheng in Dengfeng County, Henan province. While he was living as a recluse in Peize, working as a cowherd, he was reputedly asked by Emperor Yao (traditional dates 2356-2255 BC) to take over his throne. As Emperor Yao was a sage and benevolent ruler Xu You was horrified by the suggestion and so fled to the area on the north bank of the Ying River. This is regarded as a Daoist story, rather than a Confucian one, since a Confucian would have been obliged to serve a virtuous ruler. One of the cartouches on the sides of the lower half of the box depicts the philosopher Zhou Dunyi, who was also known as Zhou Maoshu (AD 1017-1075) (fig. 5). He is shown in the cartouche with his back to a blossoming peony plant admiring the flowers in a lotus pond. Zhou famously wrote a short essay entitled Ai lian shuo (Love of Lotuses), in which he explained his admiration for the lotus, and noted that only the poet Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427) had expressed admiration for chrysanthemums, while many people praised peonies. Zhou Dunyi is regarded as the first Sage of the Song dynasty, who examined the relationship between human conduct and universal forces and believed that metaphysics and ethics were inseparable. His most famous works are Taiji tushuo (An Explanation of the Diagram of the Great Ultimate) and Tongshu (Penetrating the Book of Changes). These are regarded as major Neo-Confucian texts, but their subjects are Daoist in origin. A further cartouche on the lower half of the box may depict Laozi himself, and shows him seated on a mat holding a fan, while two disciples present a vase and a lidded jar (fig. 6). The traditional view is that Laozi lived in the 6th century BC. He is believed to have been a record-keeper at the Zhou dynasty court, and is regarded as a philospher and central figure of Daoism - indeed religious Daoism sees him as one of the Three Pure Ones. Laozi is traditionally regarded as the author of the Daodejing, a text that is fundamental to philosophical Daoism and which influenced both Legalism and Neo-Confucianism. Thus, not only do the figures in the main panel on the lid of this remarkable box represent Daoist beliefs, so do many of those exquisitely depicted in the cartouches around its sides. Endnotes (1) Garner, Sir Harry, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, plates 2-4. (2) One such mirror, excavated at Luoyang, Henen province in 1955 is illustrated in China - Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2004, p. 321, no. 216. (3) Some of these are illustrated by Ryoichi Hayashi in The Silk Road and the Shoso-in, New York, 1975, pls. 25 & 28, figs. 44 & 45. (4) For example the Five Dynasties sutra boxes discovered in 1978 at the Ruiguang pagoda, Suzhou, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu fenlei quanji - Zhongguo qiqi quianji 4 Sanguo-Yuan, Fuzhou, 1998, p. 66, no. 60, and in 1986 at the Feiying pagoda, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, illustrated ibid. pp. 63-4, no. 59. (5) Wang Shixiang, preface to the 1959 edition of the 1625 Xiu shi lu by Huang Cheng. (6) See Wang Shixiang and Zhu Jiajin, Zhongguo meishu quanji - Gongyi meishu bian 8 Qiqi, Beijing, 1989, p. 30. (7) Ibid., p. 54, note 195. (8) Although the inlays on this box were described as beingof fish bone in the original excavation report, see: 'Excavation of the Yuan dynasty tombs at Feng Daozhen and Wang Qing, Datong, Shanxi province', Wenwu, 1962, no. 19, pp. 34-43, it was later identified as haliotis shell, see: Zhou Naquan and Ye Qifeng, 'The origins and development of mother-of-pearl inlay', Gugong bowuyuan yuankan, 1981, no. 1, pp. 52-58. (9) Illustrated in The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China - Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics and Metalwares, Tokyo, 2004, no. 122. (10) The relevant section of the 1388 Gegu yaolun mentions the use of copper wire on Song imperial inlaid lacquers. See Sir Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship - The Ko Ku Yao Lun, The Essential Criteria of Antiquities, London, 1971, p. 148. (11) Sir Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship, op. cit., p. 146. (12) Sir Percival David, Chinese connoisseurship, op. cit., p. 148 (13) Yuan Shi, 1976 reprint, juan 36, p. 805. (14) Illustrated in 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 1993, pp. 172-3, no. 90. (15) Translated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p. 211. (16) Sir Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship, op. cit., p. 148.

細節

斑斕絢麗 – 元黑漆嵌螺鈿群仙宴樂圖八方蓋盒
蘇玫瑰 – 國際亞洲藝術部學術總監

此元代黑漆嵌螺鈿八方蓋盒為元漆工藝佳作中之佼佼者，細膩的鑲嵌技術和繁複而生動的紋飾裝飾，使它成為十四世紀漆器作品中之傑作。螺鈿鑲嵌工藝在中國有著悠久的發展歷史，許多鑑賞家認為螺鈿鑲嵌工藝到元朝達到了歷史頂峰，此盒正為此論點提供了有力的證據。

即使在青銅器時代早期，木雕表面不僅用漆來作保護和裝飾，更鑲嵌特別形狀的貝殼和骨類作紋飾。安陽侯家莊西北岡一帶王陵出土了一批公元前十一至十二世紀的鑲嵌漆作品(1) 。青銅時代後期，金屬箔鋸切出圖案後鑲入漆器表面的工藝被廣泛使用，但到唐朝螺鈿鑲嵌工藝復甦，更製出華麗的奢侈品，如鏡子，經盒，和樂器。這些主要是用白貝類去設計圖案，再在貝殼上雕刻裝飾，有些甚至鑲嵌珊瑚和半寶石以豐富紋飾。唐朝螺鈿所用的材料來自海產貝類角蠑螺或夜光蠑螺，出土的一些唐螺鈿鏡正用此類貝殼而作(2) 。日本奈良正倉院藏有一批唐傳嵌螺鈿樂器(3) 。正倉院是專門用以存放聖武天皇遺物的御用寶庫，其收藏之螺鈿樂器上所用的正是比較大的貝類，在一些出土的螺鈿經盒上可見此種貝殼材料一直被沿用至五代和宋朝(4) 。

螺鈿工藝到宋朝有了新的發展，工匠棄用厚大白晢的貝殼而採用薄、小及色彩繽紛的貝殼鑲嵌更細緻的紋飾。這是鮑貝的內層，它比唐朝所用的貝殼更薄，更多色彩，使得螺鈿鑲嵌工藝更為細緻，西方稱之為 laque burgauté。王世襄曾指出北京髹漆匠提及唐朝的厚殼鑲嵌為硬螺鈿，宋朝的薄殼鑲嵌為軟螺鈿(5) 。

據文獻記載，宋代的薄螺鈿工藝可見於傢俱製作。台北國立故宮博物院藏宋蘇漢臣畫《秋庭嬰戲圖》中的開光螺鈿黑漆坐墩，正是薄螺鈿漆器(6) (圖一)。據南宋詞人周密《癸辛雜識.．鈿屏十事》記載，王橚在福建做官，為向權臣賈似道獻媚，特製螺鈿桌面屏風十扇，屏風滿飾賈似道事跡和贊頌文字，這些精細的圖畫和文字，只有薄螺鈿才能鑲嵌出來(7) 。迄今為止，除了在山西大同的南宋墓葬中出土的一個嵌花卉紋的圓盒，未有證據去證實晚宋至金代是否仍然有此種工藝的生產(8) 。日本東京永青文庫博物館藏定為宋代的嵌螺鈿花菱形層盒，上面的紋飾與蘇漢臣畫中坐墩上的紋飾甚為接近(9) 。由考古發掘、嵌工精美的傳世作品，如此黑漆嵌螺鈿廣寒宮群仙宴樂圖八方蓋盒為我們提供確鑿可信的證據，證明了元代鑲嵌薄螺鈿工藝已達高峰狀態。部分倖存的嵌螺鈿作如此盒採用金屬線 (通常用白鑞) 勾出圖案，可以保護鑲嵌在內的珍貴的螺鈿，並豐富了裝飾的效果。文獻中有宋朝漆器嵌金屬線的記載(10) ，但此種工藝只用於高質量的元盒之上。

此盒蓋面的左側刻有《劉紹緒作》名款，這是她的另一個特點。十四世紀初，漆匠們似乎都會在作品上留名，但以後的工匠已經匿名。可喜的是元朝著名漆匠都在他們的作品上署名，有些更記載在明初的文獻裏。作品署名的元代雕漆名家有浙江的張成和楊茂，據《格古要論》載(11) ，西塘楊匯的張成、楊茂最為出名。但這些名匠都以雕漆著稱，嵌螺鈿作不為多見。

傳世品中所見帶工匠名款的嵌螺鈿器數有七件，其中三件出產於江西省吉安府。在王佐校訂、增補1462年完成的《新增格古要論》中，他指出宋元兩朝的嵌螺鈿器產自江西省吉安府的盧陵縣(12) 。元史中記載1332年為知樞密院事燕鐵木兒所製的嵌螺鈿傢俱同樣產自江西省(13) 。

一件元螺鈿鑲嵌《李白醉草嚇蠻書》圖倭角方盒，1993年於香港展出(14) 。這盒上工匠把名字刻在右面樓閣的欄杆上，刻「盧陵胡肇綱鐵筆」。一座案屏2005年11月25日在香港佳士得拍出，拍品1460號，上面鑲嵌歡慶高中狀元的情景，分別刻「吉安府廬陵縣」、「郭顯璋己巳記夏」在兩枝欄杆之上。己巳年為公元1329年，案屏兩面均有刻干支記年銘，在其中一面的門樓牌匾上更刻「狀元」兩字。

由此盒上的紋飾特徵來看，也應是出產自吉安府廬陵縣，或至少出自江西省。其中一個特徵是紋飾中的柳枝。嵌鈿鑲漆器上多飾柳枝，此盒蓋上的柳枝、盧陵縣製《李白醉草嚇蠻書》圖倭角方盒和案屏上所飾的柳枝尾梢均輕輕向外飄起，表現了楊柳在風中飄揚的優雅形態。另一個廬陵縣作品的特徵是此盒左上角宮殿門口上刻的波浪紋飾，這紋飾亦見於香港佳士得2009年5月27日拍出的第1906號元嵌鈿鑲文會圖印盒的蓋上。這可以聯想到波浪紋飾同樣出現在十三世紀後期的江西吉州窰醬釉瓷器及十四世紀江西景德鎮作的青花瓷器上。

記載中只有三件帶干支年款的元朝嵌螺鈿漆器被著錄。上文提及的案屏為其中一；第二件2004年在於東京根津美術館 The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China – Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares ( 特別展　宋元の美　伝来の漆器を中心) 展品126號的小桌，桌面嵌人物、樓閣、荷塘、梅花鹿等，「辛丑」年款刻在欄杆之上，應為公元1301年；1981年東京國立博物館舉行的中國螺鈿漆器展中展出一件(展品15號)元嵌螺鈿方盒，嵌仕女撫琴和嬰戲紋飾，上刻「戊午郡伯置」款，應為公元1318年。

元黑漆嵌螺鈿漆器榮歸圖藏方盒2008年12月於香港佳士得李氏家族漆器珍藏專拍的第一部分中拍出，拍品2113號，並被廣泛發表。蓋上生動地鑲嵌了起伏的山路和眾多的人物，「螺鈿匠尹俊華」款刻在樓閣的柱子上。上文提及的印盒上飾文會圖，同樣帶工匠款，「周通作」、「柏軒立」分別刻於欄杆上。工匠款亦見於東京國立博物館藏的圓盒，1981年在博物館舉行的中國螺鈿漆器展中展出，展品14號，欄杆上分別刻「鐵筆蕭震」、「汶涼王肅恆畳」款。

1970 北京後英房元大都遺址中發現了一片元朝黑漆嵌螺鈿碎片，可能是一個盒子或盤子的一部份，上面用薄螺鈿嵌出廣寒宮。雖然是碎片，但細膩的工藝和七彩繽紛的色彩仍然清晰可見。碎片上的紋飾和前文提及的例子都用畫意的手法表達，明黃成《髹飾錄》螺鈿條中稱：「百般文圖，點、抹、鉤、挑，總細密精緻如畫為妙。又分截殼色，隨彩而施綴者，光華可賞。(15) 」

元大都遺址發現的元朝黑漆嵌螺鈿碎片上的場景與此八方蓋盒上的場景都是描繪廣寒宮，而宮殿建築的外貌和風格甚為相似。

螺鈿嵌風景人物為主題的漆器在當時甚為流行，明代曹昭著的《格古要論》在《螺鈿》條說道：「元朝時富豪不限年月做，造型堅而人物可愛。(16) 」

此盒上鑲嵌了很多的人物，不只在蓋上，還有盒壁的開光裏。蓋壁開光內嵌故事人物間以花鳥圖，盒足牆開光內嵌人物間以仙鹿。

此盒上的人物圖包括歷史故事、神話故事和文學作品，大部份來自道教故事。盒蓋上方有仙人站於殿外；左邊三位女神駕鳳而至到祭壇前，每羽鳳凰都刻劃細緻，尾部羽毛紋飾各異，其中一個可能就是月神嫦娥。

嫦娥的傳說略有不同，但每一個故事都涉及她的丈夫，射日英雄后羿和她從西王母那裏偷不死靈藥之事。嫦娥滯留在月宮和玉兔相偎依，還有那總在砍著桂樹卻總也砍不倒的吳剛相陪伴。另一位神仙西王母，在她的花園裏種了三千年結一次果的蟠桃。由右下方出現的海浪紋來看，第三位仙子可能是天後聖母媽祖，相傳媽祖的真名為林默，誕生於宋建隆元年（960年），因為她出生至彌月間都不啼哭，便給她取名林默，父母又稱她為默娘。二十八歲某日，她夢見父兄覆船滅頂，隨即跳海營救，但僅救得其兄。夢醒後，事實與夢中所見一樣，她聞耗痛不欲生，立刻潛入海中救父，三日後，背著父屍躍起，後因悲哀日甚，無疾而終，時人傳說她在湄峰高處羽化升天，成為東南沿海航海的守護神。盒蓋上這三為女神均有仙子相伴，另有八位仙子奏樂娛眾。下方有一個祭司手持香爐向祭壇走去。右上方有南極仙翁乘雲而至，下面有八仙紛紛到達。此應為眾仙喜慶典禮的場景。

蓋壁上一開光內飾一官人向茅屋廬走去，伺僕在門外迎接，一高仕在窗邊伏案而讀，這是描繪《三國演義》中劉備三次親自請諸葛亮的場景，「三顧茅廬」圖（圖二）。劉備三顧茅廬是蜀漢歷史上一件重要事情，漢末，天下大亂，曹操坐據朝廷，諸葛亮很有學識，又有才能，劉備三次親自邀請諸葛亮幫助，諸葛亮見到劉備有志替國家做事，而且態度誠懇，就出來全力幫助劉備建立蜀漢皇朝。

蓋壁上另一開光內飾一老翁於岸邊釣魚，三人隨後，釣魚者為姜子牙（圖三）。姜子牙是中國歷史上最享盛名的政治家、軍事家和謀略家，他胸懷濟世之志，想施展自己的抱負，但朝政腐敗，他又懷才不遇，大半生在窮困潦倒中度過。直到垂生暮年，八十高壽之時，當他聽說當朝賢主周文王的聖名後，便來到渭水河畔，假借垂釣之名來觀望時局，希望能得到周文王的常識，使自己的才華得以施展。周文王為奪昏君殷紂王的天下，解救受苦受難的黎民百姓，就招兵買馬，訪請能人。一天晚上，他夢見飛熊人懷，第二天就差人訪飛熊。在渭水河邊訪到了釣魚的姜子牙，姜子牙的號叫飛熊。周文王聽了當差的稟報，親自坐輦到渭水河邊請姜子牙到朝裡管理國家大事。他幫周國實現滅殷興周的任務，所以賜名「太公望」。姜太公的道德功業，深為後人所推崇、稱頌，把他由人變為神，列入神仙之首，編入「封神演義」之中。

蓋壁上另一開光內飾一人粗衣麻布，手牽著牛；兩人錦衣華服跟隨在後，一人向牽牛者陳上一簡（圖四）。牽牛者為河南登封箕山槐里村人許由，他以不問政治為高潔。堯帝年老時因兒子不成器，便想找許由繼承他的王位。他嚴詞拒絕，隱居沛澤以牧牛為生。堯是個惜才愛才之君，派人找到了他，想請他出任九州長官，他跑到穎水邊洗耳，表示不願意聽這種話。這被視為是道家的故事而非儒家，因為儒家將不得不為有德行的統治者。

盒壁下一開光內飾宋哲學家周敦頤背着牡丹花欣賞池塘裏的蓮花（圖五）。他的《愛蓮說》中他把幾種花加以比較：牡丹，「花之富貴者也」，陶淵明愛菊，「花之隱逸者也」，而他獨愛蓮，因為「出淤泥而不染」，以蓮喻道德高尚人。他一生的代表作《太極圖說》和《通書》是新儒學式天道創生的思想，而非道教式的無有思想，但主題卻源自道家。

盒壁下另一開光內飾老子圖（圖六）。老子手搖羽扇端坐於地毯上，兩名學生分別手持花瓶和蓋罐。傳統的觀點認為老子為公元前六世紀人，曾任周朝史官，在朝堂上做大事記錄。他被認為是哲學家和道家的宗師 – 道家的三清道祖。

先秦道家典籍《道德經》相傳是老子所著，老子所創立的道家思想對法家及新儒學影響深遠。因此，道家觀念不只表現在此盒的蓋上，同樣地表現在盒周圍的精美開光裏。

(1) Harry Garner爵士著《Chinese Lacquer》，1979，倫敦，圖版2-4。
(2) 1955年在河南洛陽出土了一面鏡子，著錄於《China – Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD》，2004，紐約大都會藝術博物館，第321頁，圖版216。
(3) 部分藏品被著錄於良一林著《絲綢之路和將曹中》，1975，紐約，25、28頁，圖44 和45。
(4) 例如1978年在蘇州瑞光塔發現的五代嵌螺鈿經盒，著錄於《中國美術分類全集 – 中國漆器全集‧4‧三國-元》，1998，福州，66頁，圖版60；另一件1986年在浙江湖州飛英塔發現的著錄於同書第63-64頁，圖版59。
(5) 王世襄在 1959出版《髹飾錄解說》。
(6) 王世襄和朱家晉合編《中國美術全集 – 工藝美術篇‧8‧漆器》，1989，北京，30頁。
(7) 前書54頁，注195。
(8) 1962年第19期《文物》，33-43頁的《山西大同市元代馮道真、王青墓清理簡報》中雖然形容為魚骨，後來稱為鮑螺，見1981年01期《故宮博物院院刊》52-58頁，中周南泉和葉琦楓合寫的「螺鈿源流」。
(9) 著錄於《The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China – Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics and Metalwares》， 2004，東京，122頁。
(10) 明洪武曹昭著《格古論要》中有記載宋朝御製漆器採用銅鑲嵌。見大維德爵士著《Chinese Connoisseurship – The Ko Ku Yao Lun, The Essential Criteria of Antiquities》1971，倫敦，146頁。
(11) 大維德爵士著《Chinese Connoisseurship》，如前書，146頁。
(12) 大維德爵士著《Chinese Connoisseurship》，如前書，148頁。
(13) 元史1976年版，卷36，805頁。
(14) 著錄在《中國漆藝二千年》，1993，香港，172-3頁，圖版90。
(15) 英文翻譯出自 Harry Garner爵士著《Chinese Lacquer》, 1979，倫敦，211頁。
(16) 大維德爵士著《Chinese Connoisseurship》，如前書，148頁。
元黑漆嵌螺鈿廣寒宮群仙宴樂圖八方蓋盒《劉紹緒作》款

盒呈八角形，隨形圈足。通體髹黑漆，上以螺鈿鑲嵌紋飾。盒面嵌重簷歇山頂樓閣，樹蔭處處，蒼松挺拔，鸞鳴鶴唳；各仙乘鳳駕雲而至，仙子奏樂，神姿仙樂，瑞雲繚繞；左邊刻《劉紹緒作》直款。蓋壁及盒下腹嵌纏枝花卉紋，邊各飾八菱花形開光，內嵌花鳥、瑞獸和人物。盒內附一黑漆屜，屜內隔九格。
足內髹黑漆。

此盒採用《髹飾錄》所謂之「分裁殼色，隨彩而施綴」的做法，層次分明，佈局繁而不亂，人物臉部、服飾鑲嵌細緻，栩栩如生。

1970年北京後英房元大都遺址中發現了一片元朝黑漆嵌螺鈿碎片，上面用薄螺鈿嵌出兩層三間重簷歇山頂樓閣，因碎片中有「廣」字痕跡，與景物印證，定名「廣寒宮圖」。此碎片上廣寒宮的紋飾、佈局與本器甚為相似。

此器於1999年10-11月在日本德川美術館展出，並著錄於展覽目錄《螺鈿 - 虹色に輝く貝と漆の芸術》14-15頁，圖版4。

來源

Nakamura Shogado, Kyoto (1960s)
Edward T. Chow
Previously sold at Christie's London, 14 July 1980, lot 334.

出版

Bulletin of the Academy of Lacquer Research, Shikkoshi, vol. 23, November 2000, pl. 2
Kathlyn Liscomb, The Art of the Book in China, Colloquies on Art & Archaeology in Asia No.23, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 2005, pp.86 fig.2

展覽

Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1979, Exhibition of Chinese Inlaid Mother-of-Pearl Lacquer Art, Catalogue, no. 18 The Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, 1990, Dragon and Phoenix, Chinese Lacquer Ware, The Lee Family Collection, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 87
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990/91
The Shoto Museum of Art, Shibuya, Japan, 1991, Chinese Lacquerware, Catalogue, no. 100
The Tokugawa Art Museum, 1999, East Asian Urushi Lacquer Work with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, Catalogue, no. 4

榮譽呈獻

Carrie Li

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The present scene depicts a banquet for the Immortals hosted by Chang'e, Goddess of the moon who, upon drinking the elixir of life, found herself in solitude on the moon without her husband. The immortals depicted include Shoulao, the God of Longevity, and Xiwangmu, the Queen Mother of the West. The box belongs to a very rare group of signed or dated mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquers from the Yuan dynasty and this is almost certainly the largest and finest example within this group. It appears that one of the earliest pictorial carvings using mother-of-pearl material, dated to the Yuan period, is a mother-of-pearl fragment unearthed at Dadu, and now in the Capital Museum collection, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, vol. 8, Lacquerware, Wenwu chubanshe, 1989, no. 112. The excavated fragment also depicts the Guanghan Gong, the palace of immortality from Chinese mythology which appears to be a popular theme adopted by craftsmen of the Yuan and Ming periods. A further comparable example is a mother-of-pearl octagonal box dated to the Yuan period in the Hayashibara Museum of Art, Okayama, included in the Tokugawa Art Museum exhibition, East Asian Urushi Lacquer Work with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, the Tokugawa Art Museum, 1999, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 12. The octagonal box is decorated with a scene of figures amidst a terraced pavilion, and inscribed with the characters Guanghan Gong above a gateway in the far distance. There are a very limited number of Yuan period mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer wares that are inscribed with either the name of the craftsmen or a cyclical date.
Only three examples inscribed with cyclical dates are known. The first is a low table from a private collection, included in the exhibition, The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 126. The low table is embellished with mother-of-pearl on its upper surface depicting a busy town scene where figures are preoccupied with their various pursuits; and neatly concealed on one of the banisters is an inscription with the cyclical Xinchou date which corresponds to 1301. The second example is a square box and cover from a private collection included in the exhibition, Cyokoku no Raden, Chinese Inlaid Mother-of-Pearl, Tokyo National Museum, 1981, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 15, inscribed with a cyclical Wuwu date which corresponds to 1318. The third is a table screen decorated with a scene of gathering scholars, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 25 November 2005, lot 1460. The table screen is similarly incised on a balustrade with the characters: Jianfu Luling Xian Gao Xianzhang Jisiji xia, '(Recorded) in the summer of the Jisi year by Guo Xianzhang of Luling county Jian prefecture'; the Jisi date corresponds to AD 1329.

It is interesting to note the mention of Luling county in Jian prefecture which is located in Jiangxi province. This district was mentioned by Cao Zhao in Ge Gu Yao Lun, 'The Essential Criteria of Antiquities', dated to 1388, as the source of fine mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer ware, cf. Sir Percival David, Chinese Connoisseurship, London, 1971, pp. 148-149. Another published reference to Luling is found incised on the upper surface of a lobed box which was included in the exhibition, East Asian Urushi Lacquer Work with Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, the Tokugawa Art Museum, 1999, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 24, no. 14. The inscription on the lobed-box is incised and written in a vertical line on one of the garden balustrades reading: Luling Hu Zhaojiong tiebi, 'Inscribed (by) Hu Zhaojiong of Luling'.

An extensively published rectangular stationery box inscribed with the characters Luodian Jiang Yin Junhua, (Made by the mother-of-pearl craftsman Yin Junhua) from the Lee family collection was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, Important Chinese Lacquer from the Lee Family Collection, 3 December 2008, lot 2113. Compare also a circular box, in the Tokyo National Museum collection, bearing the name of the craftsman, included in the same exhibition of 1981 and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 23, no. 14. The Tokyo National Museum example has two inscriptions, one bearing the name of the craftsman, Tiebi Xiao Zhen, 'Inscribed (by) Xiao Zhen', and the other inscribed on another post which possibly reads, Wenliang Wang Shuheng gong, 'A tribute from Wang Xiaoheng (possibly of Wenliang)'. Another similarly inscribed sealbox and cover was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 May 2009, lot 1906.

榮譽呈獻

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更多來自 千文萬華 ─ 李氏家族重要漆器珍藏（II）

更多來自千文萬華 ─ 李氏家族重要漆器珍藏（II）