Lot 4226.  A Yunnan carved cinnabar lacquer stem bowl, Ming dynasty, 16th century, 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 225,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The deep bowl with an everted lip is carved to the exterior with a row of large peony sprays borne on leafy stems between a band of petals and floral pattern, supported on a vertical stem with a splayed foot. The exterior of the stem is decorated with a band of keyfret above plantain leaves. The interior of the bowl and the indented base are coated with brown lacquer, box. 

Note: The distinctive style of this current stembowl, with its dark reddish-brown colour, deep sharp cuts and unpolished corners, conforms to the style of a group of lacquer typified by scholars on the subject as Yunnan work in Southeast China, generally dated to the mid-Ming dynasty. See, for example, a lacquer dish attributed as Yunnan work by J. Watt and B. Ford in East Asian Lacquer - The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, p. 91, pl. 31. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 30 May 2012, Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall