A Carved Cinnabar Lacquer Stembowl Ming Dynasty, Yongle / Xuande Period

the bowl with deep rounded sides rising to a flared rim, all supported on a splayed stem with a sealed flat base, deftly and deeply carved through thick layers of rich red lacquer to the ochre ground below with four large lotus blooms wreathed in dense curling foliage, between a border of ‘classic’ scroll collaring the rim and a band of radiating petal panels encircling the base, the stem decorated with interlocked floral scrolls centred with a floret, the interior and the base lacquered black

2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer. Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 49.
Layered Beauty: The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 39.

There are a few old restored chips to the foliate scrolls and retouching to the lacquer. There is wear and old chips that have been relacquered on the rim, as well as age cracks, including two more prominent age cracks opening with small losses of lacquer on the rim. There is wear to the underside and cracking to the black lacquer on the interior including a radiant crack showing at the joint with the stem at the bottom. Otherwise the condition is good commensurate with age.
"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 stembowl is a rare example of early Ming lacquerware, attributable to the Yongle or Xuande reign periods for its shape and floral decoration that is reminiscent of blue and white stembowls of the early Ming dynasty. For example, see a blue and white Xuande mark and period stembowl painted with a peony scroll motif included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty,National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 102, together with another similar stembowl bearing a hibiscus scroll motif, cat. no. 103.

For lacquer comparisons, see a slightly larger stembowl of related form carved with a dragon design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Zhongguo qiqi quanji, vol. 5, Fuzhou, 1995, pl. 72; another carved with a figural scene, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pp. 123-128, col. pl. C and pls. 60-63, and in Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, pl. 65, and later sold at Christie’s London, 16^th November 1998, lot 13. A further pair of lacquer stembowls, decorated with a continuous landscape scene, was included in the exhibition From Innovation to Conformity. Chinese Lacquer from the 13^th to 16^th Centuries, Bluett and Sons, London, 1989, cat. no. 24.