AN EXTREMELY RARE AND SUPERBLY CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'PEONY' DISH MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGLE |

with eight lobed sides resembling a mallow bloom, all supported on a short foot of corresponding form, centred with a mallow-shaped medallion enclosing three large blooming peony blossoms borne on leafy stems against a diapered ground, the cavetto and exterior deeply carved through layers of cinnabar lacquer to an ochre ground with luxuriant floral blooms flanked by dense foliage accentuated with attendant buds, the base lacquered black and needle-engraved with a six-character reign mark to the inner footring

Brian Harkins Oriental Art, London.

Lacquer carving in China can be traced back to as early as the Tang dynasty. Through the stylistic and technological advancements in the Song dynasty, lacquer carving reached a peak of excellence in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. After the Yongle Emperor’s re-establishment of Beiping (present-day Beijing) as the imperial capital, the Yuyongjian [Office of Imperial Use] set up an imperial lacquer workshop in the Guoyuanchang [Orchard Workshop] outside of the Forbidden City. The most skilled lacquer craftsmen from the south and other areas of China were summoned to the workshop, which was headed by Zhang Degang, the son of one of the most skilled lacquer craftsmen of the Yuan dynasty, Zhang Cheng. This period, under strict imperial control and remarkable workmanship, saw a rise in lacquer wares so impeccably executed and highly esteemed that even the Qianlong Emperor later extolled it as the most prosperous period of lacquer craftsmanship. Lacquer wares from the Yongle period were predominantly decorated with floral subjects, but landscapes and figural scenes were not uncommon. Floral decorations included depictions of peony, camellia, pomegranate, chrysanthemum and gardenia. The choice of subject matter alone is richly steeped in auspicious symbolism as peony is also known as 'the king of flowers', suggesting the wish for wealth and prosperity. With a thick and lustrous build-up of lacquer layers, the meticulous carving of the present dish demonstrates the craftsman’s utmost precision. In addition to a soft and well-polished finish, the petals and leaves are accentuated with smooth and rounded outlines and carefully picked out with fine incisions to simulate veining. Yongle lacquers exude an emulation of the preceding reigns, which can be seen from the ‘sky, earth and water’ diapered elements usually featured in figural and landscape scenes. It is extremely rare for lacquer wares to have floral elements carved against a diapered ground as seen on the current dish, forming the rebus jinshang tianhua ('adding flowers to brocade'), an expression not like the English 'gilding the lily'.

Another Yongle-marked lacquer dish of this form and decoration, differing from the current example in the key-fret band bordering its barbed rim and lacking a diapered ground, was included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy, London, 1935-1936, cat. no. 1029, and sold in our London rooms, 14th December 1976, lot 219. The similar floral arrangements and proportions indicate that both dishes are likely to be from the same period of production. Compare also the similar flower design on a Yongle period rectangular table in the Linden Museum, Stuttgart, included in the exhibition Im Zeichen des Drachen, Museum für Lackkunst, Münster, 2006, cat. no. 40.