Lot 139. A rare and finely carved cinnabar lacquer dish, Yongle mark and period (1403-1424). Length 22.5 cm, 8⅞ in. Estimate: 120,000 - 150,000 GBP. Lot sold 200,000 GBP. Photo Sotheby's.

of oval shape, the shallow rounded sides with a lipped rim, finely carved to the centre through layers of deep red lacquer with two scholars beneath a wutong tree on a balustraded terrace contemplating a flowering plant issuing from a tall scholar's rock in an ornate jardiniere, with a young attendant preparing tea inside a pavilion, framed by leafy trees and swaying bamboo, with cloud scrolls above rippling waves, the cavetto and the exterior decorated with an array of flowers including peonies, chrysanthemums, mallows, lotus and hibiscus flowers, the base lacquered black and incised with a six-character reign mark to the left side.

Note: This piece belongs to a very rare group of lacquer dishes with incised Yongle reign marks, which effortlessly bridge the bold designs of the 14th century with the delicate carvings of the Ming period. This piece is particularly notable for the masterful and sensitive execution of the scene: the two gentlemen are depicted conversing, their gestures and facial expressions convincingly expressing their ease, while an attendant sits in a pavilion, his arms crossed while he awaits for the right moment to serve tea. A vigorously carved composite floral scroll sets the scene, while delicately incised geometric patterns, which define the sky, water and ground, highlight the figures and their movements.

Dishes of this type commanded imperial sponsorship or patronage, as they were extremely costly and time-consuming to produce. The sap required to be filtered and heat-treated before being applied to a wooden core with a brush. The limited duration of seasonal humidity required for each layer to dry, before repeated applications could build sufficient thickness for the design to be carved, meant that each vessel could take several years to complete. During the Yongle reign a lacquer workshop, known as the Orchard Factory, Guoyuan chang, was established in Beijing and continued to operate until 1436. Headed by the master carvers Zhang Degang, the son of the famous lacquer carver Zhang Cheng, and Bao Liang, and staffed with the most skilled lacquer craftsmen from Yunnan and Sichuan, this workshop produced luxurious lacquer ware for the imperial court, Craig Clunas, Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming. 50 Years that Changed China, British Museum, London, 2014, p. 101.

Oval dishes with Yongle incised marks and of the period and very rare, although two related examples are known: the first, carved with a group of scholars playing chess, in the Institute of Eastern Lacquerware, Tokyo, is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu fenlei quanji. Zhongguo qiqi quanji [The complete collection of Chinese lacquerware], vol. 5, Fuzhou, 1995, pl. 21; and the second, with a Xuande reign mark superimposed on a Yongle mark, from the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, was included in the exhibition Chinese and Associated Lacquer from the Garner Collection, British Museum, London, 1973, cat. no. 43. See also an oval dish, also with a Xuande mark over a Yongle mark and with the design in a lobed cartouche, in the Tokyo National Museum, included in the museum’s exhibition Oriental Lacquer Arts, Tokyo, 1977, cat. no. 501.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 06 Nov 2019