Lot 4228. A deeply carved polychrome lacquer rectangular tray, Jiajing period (1522-1566), 6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) long. Estimate HKD 200,000 - HKD 300,000. Price realised HKD 175,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2012

The interior of the tray is deeply carved with a rectangular panel depicting an aged gentleman and a boy in a field detailed with wutongtrees, shrubs, rocks and flying goose, a majority of which lacquered red, some lacquered green, all on a yellow diaper-ground. The sides are adorned with lingzhi scrolls, the pattern repeated on the exterior. The base with four L-shaped feet is covered with black 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