Lot 363. A tianqi and qiangjin lacquer 'landscape' lobed dish, Qianlong incised and gilt six-character mark and of the period (1736-1795); 34 cm wide (2). Sold for HK$575,500 (Estimate HK$800,000 - HK$1,200,000). © Bonhams.
 

Exquisitely worked with fluted sides with pointed tips and well-defined ridges resembling petals, the interior finely decorated with a landscape scene depicting a grand pavilion nestled amongst jagged rocks issuing pine and wutong trees and battered by crashing waves, with two cranes perched atop the rockwork and calling the six others in flight amidst auspicious clouds, all against the floral and wan diaper ground framed by a key-fret border, the cavetto decorated with cartouches each enclosing a peach and a pair of bats amidst clouds, the exterior with cartouches enclosing floral branches issuing from rockwork, the base lacquered black and incised in gilt with a vertical six-character mark above a four-character inscription, Japanese wood box.

Provenance: A private collection of a tea master, Kyoto
An American private collection, sojourn in Japan, acquired in the 1980s.

Exhibited: Zheng He and the Oceanic Culture: An Exhibition of the Six Hundredth Anniversary of Zheng He's Voyages, The Museum of History, Taiwan, September 16 - October 23, 2005
Scholarly Delights: An Exhibition of Carved and Painted Lacquer Ware, The Museum of History, Taiwan, April 2007

Note: The combination of qiangjin (etched gold) and tianqi (filled lacquer) techniques reached its peak in popularity in the late Ming dynasty. The trend continued into the early Qing dynasty, when lacquerware adorned with this combination became even more refined and elaborate. Artisans typically carved designs upon a cinnabar or amber ground, carefully filling them with various colours and outlining them with fine incisions that were ultimately enhanced with gilt. This meticulous technique, referred to as xigou (fine outline) by Li Jiufang, enabled the depiction of intricate details, resulting in a stunning, polychrome vessel that surpassed even the splendour of their Ming counterparts (Li Jiufang, 'Daoyan: Yicai fencheng de Qinggong qiqi (Introduction: The Splendour of Qing Palace Lacquerware)', The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 17).

Intricately adorned with such a richly coloured, auspicious design polished to a smooth finish, this dish exemplifies the painstaking effort and masterful technique of the Qianlong court artisans. With a deep amber coloured ground, this dish features a densely decorated central roundel, depicting eight cranes, the majority carrying sticks in their beaks towards a pavilion emerging from tempestuous waves, a motif known as haiwu tianchou (to add [numerous time measuring] sticks to the sea pavilion), symbolising longevity. The dish is elegantly shaped in the form of an octofoliate bloom, with each petal featuring additional propitious symbols: blossoming flowers, peaches, and bats amidst scrolling clouds.

For a related example in comparable form and size, see a gilt-decorated polychrome lacquer foliate dish carved with four magpies, attributed to the Qianlong period, in the Qing court collection, illustrated in ibid., no. 107. The magpie dish is, however, unnamed and uninscribed. Named and incised ling he fupan (auspicious foliate plate with cranes), this dish belongs to a select group of imperial lacquerware made for the Qianlong Emperor. For examples from the Qing court collection, still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see a hexalobed linghua fenghe box decorated with phoenix, accession no. gu00108244; and also a few polychrome and qianjin lacquer boxes in various shapes and designs, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, op. cit., nos. 75-80. In particular, on the long box with cranes and deer named he lu changhe , the cranes are depicted very similarly, no. 78.

For other objects decorated with the same motif, see a mid-Qing dynasty lacquer double peach-shaped box, also from the Qing court collection, no. 82. Also compare a doucai dish in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession no. 695-1907.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 29 October 2025