Yuan dynasty, 14th century
Length: 9 inches, 22.8 cm

A lacquer dish of oval form, the rim gently curving upwards. The interior is carved through layers of cinnabar lacquer to a yellow ground with an ogival cartouche, containing a scene of a scholar seated on a balustraded terrace, gazing at the moon, which is visible above a cluster of ruyi shaped clouds. The terrace is shaded by a large pine tree, which issues from exotic rocks. To the scholar’s side a boy servant stands to attendance, whilst behind him another boy is busy placing dishes on a table. The scene is bordered by a running floral scroll, which includes camellia, peony, prunus and gardenia flowers. The rim is carved with two parallel grooves. The reverse is carved with a classic scroll (xiangcao). The base is coated in thin layers of plain black lacquer.

Small tray-like lacquer dishes of oval form carved with scenes of a scholarly nature were first produced in the 14th century. They are works of refined beauty and precision, and usually contain beautifully detailed trees, exotic rocks and balustraded terraces from which scholars gaze out. An innovation in the decoration of Yuan dynasty carved lacquers is the use of different diaper patterns to indicate water, earth and air; the latter two are clearly visible in this dish. A closely comparable dish with a decorative border of lingzhi fungus is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.1 Another oval dish displaying a similar scene and floral border is in the Lee Family Collection, Tokyo.2 A third example was included in the exhibition from Innovation to Conformity. 3

1 - Kuwayama, G. Far Eastern Lacquer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1982, no. 12, pp. 70-71
2 - It was included in the exhibition Drache und Phoenix, Lackarbeiten aus China, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln, 1990, no. 35, pp. 97 and 99
3 - Krahl, R. and Morgan, B. from Innovation to Conformity, Chinese Lacquer from the 13th to 16th centuries Bluett and Sons, London 1989, no. 8, pp. 34-5 and 85