A finely carved cinnabar lacquer 'chrysanthemum' dish, Yuan dynasty | 元 剔紅雙菊紋盤

Cinnabar lacquer wares with flower motifs boldly carved through deep layers of lacquer, appeared in the Song period (960 – 1279), and by the Yuan dynasty (1279 – 1368) had reached an outstanding level of quality. The use of lacquer in China has roots dating back to the Neolithic period and is treasured for its resistance to water, its ability to withstand heat and insects, and for offering additional vibrant hues for interior decoration. What marks Yuan carved lacquer wares is their particularly vibrant designs and sharp cuts with the carving knife. Characteristic are also the grooved band around the rim and a reverse carved with scrollwork rather than further flower motifs.

A Yuan cinnabar lacquer tray carved in a similar manner with gardenias and engraved with the name of the famous Yuan lacquer carver Zhang Cheng, formerly in the Qing Court collection and now housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin daxi. Yuan Ming qiqi / The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 3.

Compare also a similar example, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2nd June 2016, lot 815; and several related pieces with peony design, one in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, illustrated in Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 1978, top left, p.345; another, published in Catalogue of the Collection of Chinese Lacquer by Sammy Y. Lee, Edinburgh, 1964, cat. no. 33l; and and a third example, sold in our New York rooms, 21st September 2006, lot 64.