A large black lacquer mallow-form dish, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century
Lot 3266. A large black lacquer mallow-form dish, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century; 5 ¾ in. (14.7 cm.) diam. Estimate $12,000 – $18,000. Price Realized $6,875. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015
The thin dish has shallow sides that are molded in the shape of seven overlapping mallow petals that flare from the broad center to the petal-lobed rim, and is covered all over in black lacquer, Japanese wood box.
Note: Lacquer dishes of this mallow shape with seven petals were made in both black and red lacquer, and in different sizes, during the Southern Song dynasty. Two dishes of similar shape, also with a broad center, but of smaller size, 18.9 and 18.4 cm., in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, are illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Oriental Lacquer Wares, Tokyo National Museum, 8 October - 23 November 1977, nos. 423 and 424, the first in black lacquer, the second in red lacquer. Both are dated Song dynasty, 13th century.
Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 15 - 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza