Lot 151. A rare cinnabar lacquer 'scholars' box and cover, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424). Diameter 26.5 cm. Lot Sold 101,600 USD (Estimate 60,000 - 80,000 USD). © Sotheby's

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 23rd September 2004, lot 233.

Exhibited: Chinese Ceramics Tang to Song, Marchant, London, 2018, cat. no. 31.

Note: Impressive for its deep carving, large size and well preserved condition, this magnificent box is an exquisite example of the fine imperial lacquerware made in the Yongle period. The lively rendering of the scene, with its careful juxtaposition of architectural elements that convey a true sense of depth and the lush and detailed carving of blooms with frilly petals, further attest to the excellent standard of craftsmanship achieved in the manufacture of lacquer objects intended for imperial use.

In both style of carving and subject matter, this box stems from a tradition established in the Yuan dynasty, where designs of idealized gardens inhabited by reclusive scholars began to be carved on lacquer. The bold, unmannered approach that seems to characterize Yuan lacquer wares of this type, was gradually replaced by the soft and subtle perfection of the Yongle and Xuande period, as seen on this box. For a prototype of this design, see a box attributed to the Yuan dynasty, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 4. Compare also a box, attributed to the Hongwu reign, which displays a transitional style between lacquerware of the Yuan dynasty and the early 15th century, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2010, lot 2639.

A similarly carved box, in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., is illustrated in Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, pl. 33; another was included in the exhibition Selection of Masterpieces from Ringen Art Museum, Ringen Art Museum, Okoyama, 1990, cat. no. 167; and two further boxes were sold in our London rooms, the first, 13th December 1988, lot 36, and the second, 14th May 2008, lot 509. Compare also boxes of this type with Yongle marks and of the period; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, op. cit., pl. 41, together with another bearing a Qianlong inscription, pl. 37; a third included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 27; and a further box, of slightly smaller size, from the collection of Edward T. Chow, sold in these rooms, 3rd May 1994, lot 279.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, New York, 20 March 2024