A Mother-of-Pearl Inlaid Black Lacquer Dish, By Jiang Qianli Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period

of circular form with shallow rounded sides rising from a recessed base to an everted rim, finely inlaid in slivers of mother-of-pearl and gold with an episode of the Xixiang ji / The West Chamber depicting the heroine Yingying seated in a pavilion with her maid Hongniang standing beside her while she reads a note from Zhang Sheng, delivered by his attendant waiting outside, all within a border of gold key-fret below five detached flower sprays on the cavetto and a fillet of six-pointed stars under the metal rim, signed on the base with a four-character seal mark Jiang Qianli inlaid in mother-of-pearl

2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer. Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 95.
Layered Beauty: The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 27.

There are some expected fine age cracks to the black lacquer around the cavetto, and some wear in one area at the joint between the metal rim and the dish. The metal rim is a little loose, but the dish is otherwise in very good condition and the inlays are very well preserved.
"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 precision of the inlaid decoration on this precisely shaped circular dish is outstanding, intricately portaying the popular scene of Yingying from the Xixiang ji in brilliant and diverse colour tones with minute inlays formed form crushed-shell inlays. In addition to gold and silver foil decoration, the artisan has skilfully utilised sprinkled silver to convey flower blossoms and rockwork around the pavilion. The overall effect of the composition is as sharp as on any Imperial Qing court painting, and the artisan has gone one step further by achieving a state of heightened perspective and three-dimensionality in the positioning of the pavilion within the garden.

For a pair of dishes in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, of identical size and decorative style, inlaid with flower sprays on the cavetto and circular garden scenes within gold key-fret bordered, see Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p. 239, pls. 186 and 187. It is unclear whether the Victoria & Albert Museum dishes are marked on the base or not, but they are clearly by the same maker as the current dish.

For mother of pearl inlaid decoration of similar quality, see the cover of a circular lacquer box from the Qing Court Collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 228, no. 171.

Jiang Qianli, alias Qiushui, was a master crafstman from Yangzhou in Jiangsu province. For early studies of Jiang see Li Zhongqing ‘A Mother-of-Pearl Lacquer Tray by Jiang Qianli’, Wenwu, 1959, no. 11, pp. 59-61, and Paul Moss, Emperor, Scholar, Artisan, Monk. The Creative Personality in Chinese Works of Art, London, 1984, p. 258. Jiang’s name is also mentioned in a number of historical records, including the 1810 edition of the Jiaqing Yangzhou fu zhi [Chronicles of Yangzhou Prefecture in the Jiaqing period] in which Zhang Shiyuan and Yao Youtian record:

"During the early years of the Kangxi reign, the scholar Zha Erzhan resided in Weiyang [another name for Yangzhou]. He was an accomplished painter of level distance landscape and the Mi school style of painting. An inch of paper or a foot of silk would be cherished if they were by his hand. There was also Jiang Qiushui whose skill produced mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquerware that was noted for its exquisiteness. These wares were widely sought after for use at banquets. A couplet says ‘Where there are drinking cups and serving trays, there one finds Jiang Qiushui; where there are scroll paintings, there one finds Zha Erzhan'."

Wang Shizhen (1634-1711) in Chibei outan [Random Chats North of the Lake] also noted:

"Those who are particularly good at one art form in recent times include such people as Pu Zhongqian for bamboo carving and Jiang Qianli for pearl inlay..."

For additional examples of lacquer ware by Jiang Qianli, see a mallow-form covered box illustrated in Lee Yu-kuan, Oriental Lacquer Art, New York and Tokyo, 1972, p. 205, pl. 140, and another from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection, sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 180.