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Lot Essay
The dating of this lot is consistent with the Carbon 14 test, RCD Lockinge, no. RCD-9942, January 2023.
This remarkable lacquer dish, intricately carved with a vivid depiction of a pair of chilong, stands as a rare masterpiece from the Ming dynasty. The chilong, characterized by a blunt head and bifurcated tail, was a popular motif in Han dynasty and saw a resurgence in Chinese decorative arts during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the Lüshi Chunqiu (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lü), compiled around 239 BC, Confucius is said to have compared himself to a chilong, a creature often depicted carrying a lingzhi sprig in its mouth or claws, symbolizing longevity.
The artist of this present dish created an impressive three-dimensional effect, intricately carving the chilong entwined with lingzhi, surrounded by a chrysanthemum border. In its quality and the refined carving style, it closely resembles a red lacquer oval lobed dish from the Xuande period, in the collection of the Palace Museum of Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 58. That piece features a pair of chilong in dynamic, graceful poses, pursuing each other over waves, with lingzhi details. Its exterior wall displays lotus scrolls and the Eight Buddhist emblems, while the underside is lacquered in black and bears an incised gilt Xuande mark.
For earlier comparisons, refer to a similarly composed red lacquer dish with a chilong motif, dated to the Southern Song dynasty, held in the collection of the Shanghai Museum. Also notable is the renowned polychrome lacquer dish featuring a single chilong from the Song dynasty, which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 28 November 2012, lot 2082, from the esteemed Lee family collection. Also see a black lacquer box with a pair of chilong, each holding a lingzhi sprig in its mouth amidst similar cloud scrolls, illustrated in Gems of Chinese Art, From the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, Hong Kong, 1983, no. 85. A cinnabar lacquer box carved with three chilong, bearing the Yang Mao signature, from the Ryogen-in Collection in Kyoto, was exhibited at the Tokugawa Art Museum and Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, in Carved Lacquer, 10 October to 2 December 1984, no. 180. A stylistically freer rendition with more abstract dragons in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is illustrated in East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, no. 16. Additionally, see a larger box dated to the Yuan dynasty, with three similarly confronted dragons amid long stems of lingzhi, illustrated by Sherman Lee and Wai-Kam Ho in Chinese Art under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 293.
This remarkable lacquer dish, intricately carved with a vivid depiction of a pair of chilong, stands as a rare masterpiece from the Ming dynasty. The chilong, characterized by a blunt head and bifurcated tail, was a popular motif in Han dynasty and saw a resurgence in Chinese decorative arts during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the Lüshi Chunqiu (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Lü), compiled around 239 BC, Confucius is said to have compared himself to a chilong, a creature often depicted carrying a lingzhi sprig in its mouth or claws, symbolizing longevity.
The artist of this present dish created an impressive three-dimensional effect, intricately carving the chilong entwined with lingzhi, surrounded by a chrysanthemum border. In its quality and the refined carving style, it closely resembles a red lacquer oval lobed dish from the Xuande period, in the collection of the Palace Museum of Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 58. That piece features a pair of chilong in dynamic, graceful poses, pursuing each other over waves, with lingzhi details. Its exterior wall displays lotus scrolls and the Eight Buddhist emblems, while the underside is lacquered in black and bears an incised gilt Xuande mark.
For earlier comparisons, refer to a similarly composed red lacquer dish with a chilong motif, dated to the Southern Song dynasty, held in the collection of the Shanghai Museum. Also notable is the renowned polychrome lacquer dish featuring a single chilong from the Song dynasty, which was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 28 November 2012, lot 2082, from the esteemed Lee family collection. Also see a black lacquer box with a pair of chilong, each holding a lingzhi sprig in its mouth amidst similar cloud scrolls, illustrated in Gems of Chinese Art, From the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Avery Brundage Collection, Hong Kong, 1983, no. 85. A cinnabar lacquer box carved with three chilong, bearing the Yang Mao signature, from the Ryogen-in Collection in Kyoto, was exhibited at the Tokugawa Art Museum and Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, in Carved Lacquer, 10 October to 2 December 1984, no. 180. A stylistically freer rendition with more abstract dragons in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is illustrated in East Asian Lacquer, The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, no. 16. Additionally, see a larger box dated to the Yuan dynasty, with three similarly confronted dragons amid long stems of lingzhi, illustrated by Sherman Lee and Wai-Kam Ho in Chinese Art under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, no. 293.