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25 mai 2014

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'One hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, Both 16th century

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A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'one hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover Both 16th century

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Lot 77. A very rare and large carved cinnabar lacquer 'One hundred boys' rectangular box and cover, with a very rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'boys' inkstone box and cover, Both 16th century; 27cm high x 15.2cm wide. (4). Estimate HK$ 1.4 million - 1.8 million (€130,000 - 170,000). Sold for HK$ 3,160,000 (€ 374,851). Photo: Bonhams.

The top of the cover exquisitely carved depicting a multitude of boys in various leisurely pursuits, including a few swimming in a lotus pond beneath a bridge, others beneath a pavilion and gathered in front of a screen playing instruments, surrounding one boy with a puppet, another group in procession with some carrying banners or parasols, one riding a hobby-horse and another dressed as a lion at the rear, two boys stand playing kites while others watch near the top, all within a terraced courtyard, with osmanthus trees growing above the pavilion, the sides of the box and cover decorated with flowering leafy prunus branches, the interior lacquered black, 42.2cm high x 20.4cm wide; the smaller box and cover finely carved on top in relief with boys in various leisurely pursuits within a terraced courtyard, beside a pavilion and tall pine trees, all reserved on an intricate diaper ground, the sides with flowering leafy prunus branches, the interior lacquered black and fitted with a rectangular black coloured inkstone and a small metal water pot.

Provenance: The Collection of Mr Okura, Okura Oil, by repute
Mr Kenzo Hasegawa (1886-1957), founder of the Kaisendo Museum, circa late 1940s
Kaisendo Museum, Yamagata.

Note: Both boxes are extremely rare and provide a wealth of auspicious meanings. The design of boys at play or 'hundred boys', baizi tu, is frequently depicted in Chinese art, and presents the wish, 'May you have many sons'. In addition to the depiction of many boys, specific activities or objects held provide particular meanings and blessings. For instance:
Boys carrying lotus blooms provide the rebus 'may you continuously give birth to distinguished sons', those playing with a lotus mean 'may your descendants live in harmony'. Boys flying a kite provide the wish 'may you have a successful career and rise in rank', zhishang qingyun. The osmanthus tree, guiha in Chinese, is a symbol for distinguished sons or guizi.

Not only auspicious in its meaning, the 'hundred boys' motif is particularly difficult to achieve on lacquer and thus quite rare. To carve such a multitude of small figures with intricate details, such as on the present boxes and covers, would have required an exceptionally high level of skill.

A box and cover decorated with the same auspicious motif, but of 17th/18th century date and incised with a Qianlong mark, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors, Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, p.94, pl.84. A comparable exceptionally carved 'hundred boys' lacquer screen, dated Ming Dynasty, 16th century, in the private collection of Helen and Peter Lin is illustrated by Peter Y.K. Lam ed., 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Hong Kong, 1993, pp.140-141, pl.72.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART. Hong Kong, Admiralty, 26 May 2014 14:00 HKT 

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