An extremely rare rectangular carved brown lacquer tray Southern Song Dynasty

of shallow rectangular form resting on a thick short foot, finely carved through the dark crimson brown lacquer to the interior with two large peony blooms on a leafy and budding stem, the details picked out in varying levels of relief to give a three-dimensional effect, enhanced by the underlayer of red lacquer, the underside of the rim similarly carved with a floral scroll

Chinese Carved Lacquerworks of the Song Dynasty, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 2004, cat.no. 21.

Rectangular shaped lacquer trays from this early period are rare, and those carved with flowers are even rarer. This well proportioned, beautifully laid out and finely carved tray, with the two main peony blooms appearing unencumbered in a spacious arrangement without crowding and overlapping leaving the background well exposed, displays the characteristics of Southern Song dynasty carving style. See a rectangular black lacquer tray, carved with six large flower heads in a very similar widely spaced manner, attributed to the late Southern Song and early Yuan dynasties, included in the exhibition The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China: Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, cat.no. 87.

For other examples of lacquer wares carved in this large scale widely spaced style see a black lacquer box carved with chrysanthemums ibid., cat.no. 106; and three trays, one with flower and the others with bird-and-flower designs included in the exhibition Chinese Carved Lacquerworks of the Song Dynasty, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 2004, cat.nos. 18, 19 and 20.