Lot 5075. From the Ise Collection  carved cinnabar lacquer 'camellia' dish, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 19.5 cm. Lot sold 3,810,000 HKD (Estimate 1,200,000-1,800,000 HKD). © Sotheby's 2025

of shallow circular form supported on a short slightly tapered foot, deftly carved through the layers of rich cinnabar lacquer with a lush hibiscus blossom and attendant buds wreathed in dense curling foliage, the large central bloom with lobed petals naturalistically detailed with incisions and concentric hollows at their tips, the dense central pistil sprouting two curling stamen, the underside deeply carved with cloud scrolls, the base lacquered brown, Japanese double wood box.

Provenance: Hirano Kotoken.

Exhibited: Chugoku Urushi Kogei Ten [Exhibition of Chinese lacquer], Hirano Kotoken, Osaka, 1991, cat. no. 46.

Note: Yuan floral dishes of this type are notable for the varied depths of carving and dynamically rendered designs. The skill and flair of the craftsman of the present piece are particularly evident on the curling petals of the present dish. A similar dish of this type was included in the exhibition Kaikan Jusshunen Kinen Tokubetsu-ten: Chugoku no Urushi Kogei, Hirano Kotoken, Osaka, 1991, cat. no. 46.

Compare a dish with a central gardenia bloom surrounded by buds and leaves, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 3; and another decorated with a large peony and three further flowers and leaves, from the Edward T. Chow and Lee Family collections, sold in these rooms, 3rd/4th May 1994, lot 276, and again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2012, lot 2083. Another similar Yuan cinnabar lacquer 'hibiscus' dish was offered in these rooms, 8th October 2013, lot 3282. As seen on the present lot, the latter two dishes are also carved with xiangcao scrolls on the exterior, a feature typical of Yuan lacquer dishes. This camellia motif, popular in the Yuan dynasty, extends into the early Ming period, featuring notably similar central stamens, though simplified. Compare a 15th-century example in the Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, cat. no. 13.

Sotheby's. Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from the Ise Collection, Hong Kong, 9 September 2025