RARE CARVED RED LACQUER SELLETTE Ming Dynasty A... Lot 30

RARE CARVED RED LACQUER SELLETTE Ming Dynasty A RARE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER INCENSE STAND Ming dynasty Of nearly square section, with a flat top supported on a high waist inserted with a front drawer and shaped rounded apron, resting on four tapering, shaped cabriole legs ending in curled feet connected by square floor stretchers, the top exquisitely carved with a palace scene, depicting a large palace in a luscious garden setting, with scholars and their attendants gathered around a table, while others are wandering amidst gnarled plantain, pine trees and rocks, all on a geometric floral diaper ground, the sides, aprons, legs and stretchers boldly carved with an array of flower heads including peonies, lotus and mallow amidst dense foliage on an ochre ground. 42.5cm (16 3/4in) wide x 42.5cm (16 3/4in) deep x 41cm (16 1/2in) high. Footnotes: 十五世紀 剔紅高士圖四方香几 Chinese furniture has been finished with lacquer since ancient times. Natural lacquer resin provided a durable and smooth surface, and was also well suited to a wide range of decorative effects. While many different techniques of lacquer decoration were known and applied, carved cinnabar lacquer, which was the most complex, costly and challenging technique, gained the patronage of early Ming emperors as numerous examples of imperially inscribed and dated carved cinnabar lacquer works demonstrate. It is not surprising that very few pieces of precious carved lacquer furniture dating to the early Ming period survive. Among the best known pieces is an altar table, now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, (acc.no.FE.6:1 to 4-1973), and an incense stand in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, both bearing a Xuande mark, illustrated by Hu Desheng, Gugong shoucang. Ni yingai zhidao de 200 jian caihui jiaju (Collections of the Palace Museum. Painted Furniture), Beijing, 2009, p.48, no.19. While larger examples of early Ming carved cinnabar lacquer furniture are rare, there are smaller pieces that are comparable to the present incense stand. Compare, for example, a low stand or table, published in the Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, no.66, and another example of a low table, Hongwu, in the collection of the Museum of East Asian Art, Berlin, published by Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, pl.24. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com