Lot 14 明永樂　剔紅牡丹紋蓋盒 | A RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'PEONY' BOX AND COVER

明永樂　剔紅牡丹紋蓋盒 | A RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'PEONY' BOX AND COVER

Yongle

HKD 550,000

HKD 550000 - 750000

未知

未知

Yongle
Of circular form, the cover crisply carved through thick layers of cinnabar lacquer with luxuriant peony blooms progressing from closed, to partially opened, blooming and then mature, their petals articulated amidst dense, scrolling foliage with the leaves finely incised to suggest veins, the sides of the box and cover similarly carved with continuous bands of flowering peonies interspersed with smaller buds and curling leaves, fitted box.
13.4cm (5 1/4in) diam. (3).
Footnotes
明永樂　剔紅牡丹紋蓋盒
Provenance:
Bluett & Sons Ltd., London, March 1970
The Falk collection, New York, no.571
Christie's New York, 20 September 2001, lot 226
Poly Auction Hong Kong, 7 October 2014, lot 3133
Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Lacquer: A Panorama of Asian Decorative Arts, New York, 1988
Zhang Rong, ed., , Beijing, 2020, pp.66-67, no.14
Bluett & Sons Ltd.，倫敦，1970年3月
Falk 收藏，紐約，藏品編號571
紐約佳士得，2001年9月20日，拍品編號226
香港保利，2014年10月7日，拍品編號3133
布魯克林藝術博物館，《Lacquer: A Panorama of Asian Decorative Arts》，紐約，1988年
張榮主編，《巧法造化：陽明山房藏宋元明清漆器》，北京，2020年，編號14
The present lot is particularly noteworthy for the graduated treatment of the peony blooms, which appear to unfold progressively around the composition: from the closed flower at the lower right, through increasingly open flowers, to the largest and most fully developed bloom at the centre. This carefully conceived sequence lends the decoration a remarkable sense of movement and vitality, while the luxuriant peony, traditionally associated with wealth, prosperity and honour, imbues the composition with auspicious connotations. The substantial thickness of the cinnabar lacquer has allowed the carver to model the petals and foliage in deep, rounded relief, further enhancing the sense of natural growth and three-dimensionality.
The sophisticated carving of the present box is characteristic of the high level of craftsmanship achieved in lacquerware produced for the Yongle Imperial Court. For a relatively brief but highly productive period, the (Orchard Factory) operated northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing, bringing together highly skilled craftsmen from southern China to produce luxury lacquerware for the Court. Raw lacquer sap was specially transported from the south, where lacquer trees could thrive, for the exclusive manufacture of such Imperial wares.
Compare with a similar cinnabar lacquer circular box and cover, Yongle incised six-character mark and of the period, with similar progressively opening peony blooms, illustrated in , Taipei, 2008, p.29, no.10. See also a related carved cinnabar lacquer circular box and cover with peonies, early Ming dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in , Hong Kong, 2006, p.101, no.73.
See a related large carved cinnabar lacquer 'peony' box and cover, Yongle six-character mark and of the period, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2022, lot 5. Compare with another cinnabar lacquer 'peony' box and cover, Yongle incised six-character mark and of the period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 November 2017, lot 8009.
蔗段式盒，子母口，平頂直壁。盒面、側面均髹朱漆，漆色紅潤；盒內及底髹黑漆。盒面以一枝盛放牡丹為主，主幹蜿蜒，周邊綴小花苞，每苞以兩三葉片陪襯，構圖繁而不亂，整體氣度雍容。蓋盒直壁亦密佈花葉。花瓣起伏婉轉，瓣脈與葉脈皆以陰刻線勾勒，線條流暢，見永樂剔紅之氣韻。
此盒雕工精妙，特別在其牡丹花之處理。花苞自右下含而未放，漸漸舒展，至中央一朵碩大盛放，循序展開，構圖生動而富有韻律。牡丹素有富貴榮華之喻，更添吉祥意涵。朱漆層厚，匠人得以深雕圓琢花瓣枝葉，益顯自然生長之態與立體之感，充分體現永樂朝御用漆器作坊之高超水平。其時，果園廠設於皇城西北，營運雖短而產出豐盛，薈萃南方巧匠，專為宮廷製作奢華漆器。生漆特自南方漆樹產地運來，專供御用器物之需。
比較一件相似之剔紅圓蓋盒，永樂六字刻款，牡丹花亦作漸次綻放之態，見《和光剔彩：故宮藏漆》（台北，2008年）第29頁，編號10。另見清宮舊藏一件明早期剔紅牡丹紋圓蓋盒，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集·元明漆器》（香港，2006年）第101頁，編號73。
市場可比一件永樂六字款剔紅牡丹紋大蓋盒，售於香港蘇富比2022年10月8日，拍品編號5。另見一件永樂六字刻款剔紅牡丹紋蓋盒，售於香港佳士得2017年11月27日，拍品編號8009。