A rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'bird and flower' tray, Yuan dynasty | 元 剔紅穿花雙鳥紋盤

Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th April 2001, lot 629.

香港佳士得2001年4月30日，編號629

The present tray is remarkable for its deep carving in the powerful style characteristic of the Yuan period. Boldly rendered through the deep layers of cinnabar lacquer, the tray belongs to a group of lacquer wares carved with the 'two-bird' motif that gained popularity in the Yuan dynasty.

See two similar pieces from the Engaku-ji in Kamakura, illustrated in John Figgess, 'Ming and Pre-Ming Lacquer in the Japanese Tea Ceremony', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 37, 1967/69, pls 64a and 64b. Believed to have been brought to Kamakura by the Chinese monk Xu Ziyuan in 1279, before being recorded in the inventory in 1363, both pieces have been suggested to have been made in as early as the Southern Song dynasty.

The treatment of birds on the interior and the floral scroll on the exterior of the present tray bears similarities with the box and dish from the Engaku-ji, including the rendering of the elongated necks of the birds, the detailed incision to pick out the plumage, and the carving of the floral scroll, suggesting that the current tray was possibly made in the early Yuan dynasty.

See a comparable example but of a larger size (31.8 cm) and carved on the underside with ruyi scrolls and signed Yang Mao on the base, sold in these rooms, 9th October 2020, lot 43, from the collection of the Kaisendo Museum.

此盤漆層厚施，雕刻深峻利落，展現元代漆雕藝技。飾元代流行之雙鳥圖案，水禽成雙，花間翔飛，諧和悅目。

鎌倉圓閣寺存兩件南宋剔漆例，據信為宋僧徐子淵1279年攜至日本之物，並於1363年記錄在冊，詳見約翰．菲格斯（John Figgess），〈Ming and Pre-Ming Lacquer in the Japanese Tea Ceremony〉，《東方陶瓷學會彙刊》，卷37，1967-69年，圖版64a、64b。

盤內雙鳥及器外花卉的布局、雕刻，尤其是鳥兒長頸、翎羽細線、連枝花卉，風格均與圓閣寺藏盒和盤有共通之處，由此推斷此盤應乃製於元代早期。

參考蟹仙洞博物館舊藏盤，尺寸略大（31.8公分），署「楊茂造」款，盤外雕連枝卷草紋，2020年10月9日在香港蘇富比拍出，編號43。