Lot 19 明嘉靖　剔紅群仙祝壽圖八方几 | A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'IMMORTALS' OCTAGONAL STAND

明嘉靖　剔紅群仙祝壽圖八方几 | A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'IMMORTALS' OCTAGONAL STAND

Jiajing

HKD 500,000

HKD 500000 - 800000

未知

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Jiajing
Exquisitely carved on the flat octagonal top through deep layers of cinnabar lacquer with a scene depicting several Immortals and a deer gathered on a balcony to greet the arrival of Shoulao, flying on his crane amidst swirling clouds, all set within a terraced garden surrounded by pavilions and gnarled pine and wutong trees reserved on a diaper ground, the sides of the top carved with lotus petals above a key-fret border encircling the waist, the shaped aprons decorated with various blooms borne on meandering leafy tendrils, repeated on the cabriole feet joined by stretchers at the base, fitted box.
37cm (13 3/8in) high. (2).
Footnotes
明嘉靖　剔紅群仙祝壽圖八方几
Provenance:
The Manno Art Museum, Osaka (label)
Published and Illustrated:
Zhang Rong, ed., The Creation of Natural Immensity and Grandeur: The Yang Ming Shan Fang Collection of Lacquer from Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 2020, pp.88-91, no.23
萬野美術館，大阪（標籤）
張榮主編，《巧法造化：陽明山房藏宋元明清漆器》，北京，2020年，頁88至91，編號23
The Manno Art Museum, Osaka, was founded by Yasuaki Manno (1906-1998), a prominent Japanese collector of Chinese and Japanese art in the second half of the 20th century. The collection encompassed Chinese ceramics and lacquer as well as Japanese painting, lacquer and tea ceremony objects, and was published in , Osaka, 1988. Works from the collection were subsequently exhibited at institutions including the Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo, and examples of the Manno collection are now found in museums and private collections internationally.
Lacquer stands of comparable craftsmanship are rare. A substantially larger example (84cm high), Xuande, is in the Qing Court Collection and is illustrated in , vol.1, Hong Kong, 2002, p.192, no.163. The treatment of the leafy floral sprays carved to the legs and stretchers is particularly close to the present stand.
The present lot is notable for its tall, waisted form and finely carved decoration. Stands of this type and height were used as incense tables, providing a high surface for the display of incense burners and other vessels. A cinnabar lacquer incense stand of similar form and height (42.55cm high), 15th century, is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (acc.no.80.89). Compare also a cinnabar lacquer carved 'sages' high waisted stand, 16th century, from the Ōtani family of Nishi Hongwanji Temple, Kyoto, which was later sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 December 2021, lot 80.
The decoration of the top panel depicts a gathering of Daoist Immortals, a subject particularly associated with the Jiajing period and the Emperor's interest in Daoism. The Immortals are frequently shown together in scenes celebrating longevity and auspicious occasions. Compare two cinnabar lacquer boxes decorated with related birthday scenes, Jiajing, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in , Hong Kong, 2006, pp.156–159, nos.117–118.
几面呈八方形，束腰內縮，下設托腮，牙板隨几面作八瓣，四隅各設三彎腿，外翻馬蹄落於矮托泥上。通體剔紅，漆色柔亮勻實。几面施褐漆作錦地，剔紅仙山樓閣，檐牙高啄，有蒼松、修竹參差掩映；壽老駕鶴盤旋雲端，眾仙奏樂聚於高台，另有仙鹿、仙童往來其間。束腰飾回紋，上承蓮瓣紋，牙板各面及四腿外側均剔紅花卉。整體造型巧麗，紋飾精湛，既耐觀賞，又頌福壽。
此類工藝精良之漆几，傳世甚罕。清宮舊藏一件尺寸較大之宣德例（高84厘米），著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：明清家具》，香港，2002年，頁192，編號163，其腿足及牙板所雕枝葉花卉，與本品尤為相近。本品高身束腰，形制挺拔，雕飾精細，尤為珍罕。此類方几多作香几之用，以供陳設香爐等器。明尼亞波利斯藝術博物館藏一件十五世紀剔紅香几，形制與高度相近（高42.55厘米，館藏編號80.89）。另可比對一件十六世紀剔紅高士聽琴圖香几，出自京都西本願寺大谷家族舊藏，後售於香港邦瀚斯，2021年12月2日，拍品編號80。
此几面所繪為群仙祝壽之景。漆器紋飾中，群仙聚會祝壽、慶賀祥瑞之景屢見不鮮，此一題材與嘉靖朝及其崇奉道教之風尚息息相關。比較清宮舊藏兩件嘉靖朝剔紅祝壽圖盒，著錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：元明漆器》，香港，2006年，頁156至159，編號117至118。
大阪萬野美術館由萬野裕昭（1906–1998）創立。萬野氏為二十世紀後半葉日本著名收藏家，專精中國及日本藝術。其收藏涵蓋中國陶瓷、漆器，以及日本繪畫、漆藝與茶道器物，並曾出版《萬野コレクション撰集》（大阪，1988年）。館藏作品其後曾於東京三得利美術館等機構展出，部分藏品現已散入國際各博物館及私人收藏。