Pair of Cinnabar Lacquer Wine Cups, Relief Décor, Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Starting price € 10,000.00. Photo Auctionata

Cinnabar red lacquer, silver mounting. Cup-shaped, deep wine cup on a narrow base rim with a sweeping mouth rim. The outer wall with a floral décor with litchi fruits and swastika ornaments in a multistage relief. Below revolving lotus leaves at the foot. The atmospheric background is implied by small, detailed geometric pattern with flowers. The upper and the lower rim with a meander border. Each feet as well as the interior with silver mounting

The lacquer cups are in good condition with only slight signs of age and wear. Each height is c. 5 cm and the diameter measures c. 10 cm.

A nearly identical pair of wine cups with very similar decoration can be found in the collection of the Linden Museum Stuttgart. Cf. Monika Kopplin (ed.), Im Zeichen des Drachen – Von der Schönheit chinesischer Drachen, Munich 2007, p. 144, cat.no. 63.

Chinese Carved Lacquer Art
The resin used in Chinese lacquer art is extracted from the sap of the lacquer tree, which turns into a brown color after extraction and hardens during a long drying process. The lacquer gets its typical color, usually red or black, through the addition of cinnabar, charcoal or sometimes iron sulfate. During the labor-intensive manufacturing process the lacquer is applied layer by layer onto a substrate, usually wood, in up to two hundred ultra-thin layers, so that the total layer can reach a thickness of more than one centimeter. The latter is then carved with a sharp knife. The result is raised, often several millimeters deep relief and a plastic-dimensional pattern. This carved lacquer can be found primarily on vases or boxes.

Auctionata. Asian Treasures. Monday, Aug 24, 2015, 8 am EDT