AN OUTSTANDING RECTANGULAR GURI LACQUER BOX AND COVER SONG DYNASTY

of rectangular form with straight sides and rounded corners, deeply carved through alternating layers of yellow and red lacquer beneath the black surface with four heart-shaped guri pommels forming a central lobed medallion on the cover, flanked on each side by two barbed panels enclosing four radiating trefoils, all centred with a circle and aligned horizontally, the sides of the box similarly decorated with the same sequence of alternating lobed rosaces and barbed panels formed of guri scrollwork, the recessed base and interior lacquered in dark brown

There is light restoration to one of the corner of the box cover as well as minor expected touch up along the edges. There are some typical age cracks and minor losses of lacquer overall in keeping with age. There are some small touch up and relacquering on the interior. But overall the box is in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This well-proportioned, delicate box belongs to a very rare group of tixi or guri lacquerwares, probably the earliest to be developed in southern China in the Song dynasty (960-1279), and predating the better-known guri wares with designs composed of double-lobed ruyi-like elements. The present group is distinguished by its regular symmetric designs, often composed of rosettes and laid out on a clear grid with distinct horizontal and vertical guidelines. Unlike on later tixi pieces, the lacquer coating is composed of around ten alternating layers of red and yellow lacquer with only the uppermost layer in black, and carved with wide V-shaped grooves to reveal as much of the polychromy as possible and to narrow the black design elements down to slim bands.

Examples of this type of lacquer are outstandingly rare and virtually all examples are preserved in Japan. A pair of small circular boxes and fragments of a hexafoil flower-shaped box with similar designs built up from nine layers of red and yellow lacquer with black lacquer on top, similarly carved at a wide V-shaped angle, have been excavated from a Southern Song tomb at Baizhang village, Mingqing county, Fujian province and are illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji [Complete series on Chinese lacquer], Fuzhou, 1993-8, vol. 4, pls. 122 and 123.

A total of thirteen lacquer pieces carved in this technique are included in two important recent publications on Song lacquerware, both published around the same time by the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts and the Tokyo National Museum, respectively. The exhibition catalogue Chūgoku Sō jidai no choshitsu/Chinese Carved Lacquerware of the Song Dynasty, Tokyo National Museum, 2004, pls. 1-10, includes ten items, comprising of two large dishes in the Tokyo National Museum and a small box in the University Art Museum of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, that are attributed to the Northern Song dynasty, 12th century, and another dish, rectangular tray, bottle, and four small boxes in private collections, attributed to the Southern Song, 13th century. An enlarged detail of the first of the dishes is also illustrated on the catalogue cover, which clearly shows an identical concept as realized on the present box with alternating layers of red and yellow lacquer and a layer of black at the top, the latter largely carved away to expose the colouration.

Nine pieces of this type are included in the exhibition catalogue Sō Gen no bi. Denrai no shikki o chūshin/the Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China. Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics and Metalwares, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, cat. nos. 44-52, six of them also found in the Tokyo National Museum publication, in addition to a large box with a dish featuring as stand in the Tokugawa Art Museum, Nagoya, a smaller box in the Fujita Art Museum, Osaka, and a box from a private collection. All these pieces have the same distinctive, strictly right-angled organisation of the patterns, with rosettes divided into quarters, except for one box, which breaks out of this orientation and shows a pentafoil layout.