A carved cinnabar lacquer foliate dish Late Ming Dynasty

well carved in the form of a flower with eight lobes, with shallow curved sides supported by a foot of conforming shape, the interior with a large central flowered diamond diaper medallion forming the stylised stamen, encircled by a frieze of large flowering peonies on leafy stems interspersed with morning glory blooms, the exterior decorated with flowering peony, lotus, and other flowers, the base lacquered black   

Compare the various flowers on the present lot with a floral border  on a 16th century pen tray illustrated in Karamono: Imported Lacquerwork - Chinese, Korean, and Ryukyuan, Selections fromt he Tokugawa Art Museum, vol. 2, Negoya, 1997, no.  66.  The design for this dish may have come from a Song Dynasty dish of similar form with a central diaper medallion encircled by various flowers, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, illustrated in Hai-Wai Yi-Chen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collection, Lacquerware, The National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1987, cat. no. 36.