‘Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection’, Julia White, Honolulu Academy of Art, 2006, p. 66-67
The five-lobed plate delicately carved with a central garden and pavillion scene depicting a figure and his attendant standing under a pine tree staring at a lotus pond. The central figure on this plate is probably Zhou Dunyi, a famous Neoconfucian philosopher of the Song dynasty. The open doors of the pavillion reveal a wooden table with a vase on top. The decorative rim of the plate is carved with seasonal flowers and foliage.
It seems plausible this plate may be from the workshop of Zhang Minde, son of Zhang Cheng, one of the most famous lacquer carvers of the Yuan period from Yanghui in Xietang, Zhejiang Province. Various stylistic elements on this dish are similar to dated pieces in important museum collections. First of all, the table depicted in the pavillion resembles a table on a box from the Irving Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dated by inscription to the early Ming period.[1] Furthermore, this box is also carved with a spreading pine tree covering the pavillion and central figures, an element that also can be seen on a hexagonal plate signed ‘Yang Mao’ and dated to the late Yuan dynasty in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.[2] Lastly, a box with similar fürnishing carrying the signature Zhang Minde can also be seen in the Palace Museum, Beijing.[3]
References:
[1] James C.Y. Watt and Barbara Brennan Ford, ‘East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection’, New York, 1991, cat. No. 27, p. 84-85
[2] Chen Chang, ed., ‘Zhongguo qiji quanji (Lacquer Treasures from China), vol. 4: Sanguo-Yuan (Three Kingdoms-Yuan dynasty)’, Fujian, China, 1998, cat. no. 153, illustrated p. 168, description p. 62
[3] Chen, ed., ‘Zhongguo qiji quanji’, cat. no. 154, illustrated p. 169, description p. 63
A lobed red lacquer plate (late Yuan/early Ming dynasty, 14th-15th century)
Description
Dimensions: 17.5cm diameter
Provenance:
Michael H. Healy
Anthony Carter, 2015
A private Asian collection
Exhibited:
Honolulu Academy of Art, 2002
China Institute of America, New York, 2005
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2006
Museum für Lackkunst, Münster, 2007
Illustrated:
‘Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection’, Julia White, Honolulu Academy of Art, 2006, p. 66-67
The five-lobed plate delicately carved with a central garden and pavillion scene depicting a figure and his attendant standing under a pine tree staring at a lotus pond. The central figure on this plate is probably Zhou Dunyi, a famous Neoconfucian philosopher of the Song dynasty. The open doors of the pavillion reveal a wooden table with a vase on top. The decorative rim of the plate is carved with seasonal flowers and foliage.
It seems plausible this plate may be from the workshop of Zhang Minde, son of Zhang Cheng, one of the most famous lacquer carvers of the Yuan period from Yanghui in Xietang, Zhejiang Province. Various stylistic elements on this dish are similar to dated pieces in important museum collections. First of all, the table depicted in the pavillion resembles a table on a box from the Irving Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dated by inscription to the early Ming period.[1] Furthermore, this box is also carved with a spreading pine tree covering the pavillion and central figures, an element that also can be seen on a hexagonal plate signed ‘Yang Mao’ and dated to the late Yuan dynasty in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing.[2] Lastly, a box with similar fürnishing carrying the signature Zhang Minde can also be seen in the Palace Museum, Beijing.[3]
References:
[1] James C.Y. Watt and Barbara Brennan Ford, ‘East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection’, New York, 1991, cat. No. 27, p. 84-85
[2] Chen Chang, ed., ‘Zhongguo qiji quanji (Lacquer Treasures from China), vol. 4: Sanguo-Yuan (Three Kingdoms-Yuan dynasty)’, Fujian, China, 1998, cat. no. 153, illustrated p. 168, description p. 62
[3] Chen, ed., ‘Zhongguo qiji quanji’, cat. no. 154, illustrated p. 169, description p. 63
Information
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