An important Imperial carved red lacquer dish, China, Jiajing six-character-mark and of the period

of saucer form, crisply carved in red lacquer in relief on a dark green cloud-diaper ground with six cranes with finely incised wing and body feathers, amid numerous stylised clouds below a small round medallion with the first, qian, of the Eight Daoist Divination Trigrams bagua. In the well are carved in red lacquer four elongated dragons with five clawed legs chasing each other amid clouds above waves and rocks on a plain buff-brown ground. The fifth claw of the dragons had been all carefully scratched off. The outside is decorated equally on a buff-brown ground with a continuous floral scroll with delicately incised veining, above the low foot with a key fret band. The underside is black lacquered with the six character reign mark of the Jiajing era. D. 26,3 cm - Fine age cracks and three small restorations on the rim - Estimate 60 000 €

Provenance: Property from an important private collection

Notes: - published and exhibited Tokyo National Museum, Exhibition of Oriental lacquer arts, Tokyo, 1977, cat. no. 529

- Sotheby's Hong Kong, 17 + 18 May 1988, lot 342, a similar lacquer dish of identical pattern and size and with the same incised Jiajing reign mark on reverse, a third identical dish of same size, decoration and Jiajing reign mark is cited in the collection of the Museum of Decorative Art in Copenhagen and illustrated in the catalogue by Leth, 1959, no. 115

Nagel Aunctions. Asian Arts. 10 November 2008. www.auction.de