Lot 83. A mother-of-pearl-inlaid black lacquer 'figural' cup stand, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 14 cm, 5 ½ in. Estimate: 500,000 - 700,000 HKD. Unsold. Courtesy Sotheby's.

of globular form with rounded sides, inlaid on the exterior with ruyi-shaped cartouches enclosing floral scrollwork, supported on a broad circular tray with an upturned rim, similarly decorated with lobed cartouches with figures, all above a flaring foot further inlaid with a floral scroll, the interior lacquered black, Japanese wood box.

Property from the Aoyama Studio Collection.

Note: The scrolling foliage design on the current cup stand, referred to as juancao (scrolling grass) or xiangcao (fragrant grass), first appeared on Song dynasty lacquerwares and enjoyed considerable popularity well into the Yuan dynasty. The present piece bears the needle-engraved signature Yang Mao zao (made by Yang Mao). Yang Mao is known from Gegu yaolun [The essential criteria of antiquities] by Cao Zhao of 1388, where he and Zhang Cheng, both of Xitang in Jiaxing district, Zhejiang province, southwest of modern Shanghai, are mentioned as carvers of red lacquer who became famous at end of the Yuan dynasty (Xinzeng gegu yaolun [New expanded edition of the essential criteria of antiquities], vol. 8, p. 2).

Sotheby's. Monochrome II, 9 October 2020, Hong Kong