A carved Cinnabar Lacquer 'melon' Dish Ming Dynasty, 14th / 15th Century

the circular shallow dish intricately carved through to the brown ground, the interior with six lobed melons of globular shape, all issuing from large palmate leaves with tendrils, the exterior carved with a continuous pommel-head scroll, the base lacquered black, Japanese wood box (2)

The dish is slightly warped and the base has been relacquered. The cracks around the rim and the foot have been consolidated. The interior has minor retouching to the edge of the leaves and the all the cracks in the recessed area of have been filled and painted (it is hard to gauge the exact amount . Despite the expected restoration, the dish is still in quite 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Lacquer dishes carved in this bold style with the melon design are extremely rare and only two others appear to be recorded: one from the collection of A. Giuganino, Rome, included in the exhibition Chinese Lacquer from the Jean-Pierre Dubosc Collection and Others, Eskenazi, London, 1992, cat.no. 20; and a larger dish sold in these rooms, 8th April 1988, lot 350.

Melons were included as design elements and can be found painted on Yuan blue and white wares, such as the large dish in the Tianminlou collection illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 166. However, the design of boldly painted fruiting melon sprays enclosed by broad leaves and tendrils, as seen on the present piece, appeared first on early Ming vessels. See a dish attributed to the Yongle period (1403-1424), from the Ip Yee Collection and included in the Min Chiu Society exhibition An Anthology of Chinese Ceramics, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1980, cat.no. 73, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 177. Another similar dish, in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 3:34.

For examples of lacquer dishes of this form but different carved motif, see one decorated with a large gardenia flower amongst thick leaves, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Ancient Chinese Lacquerware, Beijing, 1987, pl. 40.