A CARVED BLACK AND RED GURI LACQUER BOX AND COVER SOUTHERN SONG – YUAN DYNASTY |

of rectangular section with rounded corners, carved overall through alternating layers of black and red guri lacquer, the domed cover with robust ruyi-shaped pommels repeated on the sides, the interior and base lacquered in brownish-black, inscribed in red and ochre with two characters reading shisi (fourteen)

An old Japanese collection.

Good overall condition, with just typical age cracks, minor surface wear and bruising, and gentle retouching to small areas, especially the flanges at the interior.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present vessel belongs to a well-known group of boxes, made in various sizes and shapes but all decorated with attractive ruyi-shape pommels. Lacquerware of this type is notable for the sense of vivacity that has been achieved through the colour effect in its carvings, which is exemplified on the present box. This decorative technique, with wide V-shaped grooves carved into alternating layers of red and black lacquer, is commonly known as tixi. It has generally been used as a synonym for guri lacquer, a Japanese term describing the spiral designs (see Lee King-tsi and Hu Shih-chang, ‘On Chinese Tixi Lacquer’, Orientations, September 1993, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 65-68). This piece is outstanding for the masterfully carved design that wraps around the corners of the box, a technique that required a great level of skill and confidence. A closely related box, attributed to the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279), from the Nagata collection, Tokyo, included in the exhibition The Colours and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, cat. no. 62, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31st May 2010, lot 2026. A similar box, with a Yuan attribution, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, was included in the Museum’s exhibition East Asian Lacquer. The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, 1992, cat. no. 6.

Guri lacquer boxes continued to be produced in the Ming dynasty; see one decorated with ruyi-shaped pommels and cloud scrolls, in the National History Museum of China, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji [The Complete Works of China Lacquer], vol. 5, Ming, Fujian, 1995, pl. 91; and another, carved with ruyi between scrollwork, formerly in the collection of Fritz Löw-Beer, in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, included in the exhibition Im Zeichen des Drachen. Von der Schonheit chinesischer Lacke, Museum für Lackkunst, Münster, 2006, cat. no. 75.