A RARE 'QIANGJIN' AND 'TIANQI' LACQUER 'SCHOLAR' BOX AND COVER MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI, DATED TO THE GENGXU YEAR (IN ACCORDANCE WITH 1610)

of square section with cusped corners, incised and decorated in polychrome lacquer on a brown lacquer ground, the cover with a seated scholar, possibly Zhou Dunyi, looking at a lotus pond, an attendant standing beside him holding a fan while another carries a wine ewer, the sky figured with leiwen enclosing wan symbols, all surrounded by detached lotus scrolls within recessed panels repeated around the box and camellia sprays on the rims and on the corners, the foot picked out with swirling clouds, the interior and the base lacquered in red,the base incised with an eight-character reign mark in gilt

Collection of Sir John and Lady Figgess.
Christie's London, 14th December 1983, lot 11.

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. 85.
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. 21.

There are cracks and overall tarnishing to the lacquer in commensuration with age and as visible on the photo. There are retouching to the lacquer on the corner, probably to stabilize cracks, as well as expected re lacquering on the rim of the cover and the interior rim of the box with occasional losses or dents. There are further age cracks on the base and on the interior that have been stabilized, including a crack crossing over the two first characters of the mark.
"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 box portrays the Song dynasty scholar Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073). Known for his love of lotus flowers, depictions of Zhou Dunyi found popularity during the Yuan dynasty and continued into the Ming period when he was often portrayed with the scholars Wang Xizhi (303-361), Tao Yuanming (365-427) and Meng Haoran (689 or 691-740); for example see a Wanli mark and period blue-and-white meiping decorated with this subject, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, pl. 725.

Compare a qiangjin and tianqi dish similarly decorated with a scholar in a landscape, dated in accordance with 1595, sold in these rooms, 15th November 1983, lot 336; and a lobed dish illustrating Wang Xizhi, from the Lee Family Collection, illustrated in Anthology of Chinese Art. Ming Lacquer, vol. 5, Fuzhou, 1995, pl. 146. Further qiangjin and tianqi lacquer boxes of square form, but decorated with dragons, include one of slightly larger size, also dated to the year 1610, included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer. The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 53; and another, dated to 1604, illustrated in Hu Shih-chang and Jane Wilkinson, History of the Chinese Lacquer Collection in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1998, pl. 1908. 

The wan diaper ground denotes the air, which is the feature seen in many late official Wanli 'tianqi' lacquer wares.