A Large Cinnabar Lacquer 'Eight Immortals and Shoulao' Dish Ming Dynasty, 16th Century

with shallow sides rising from a short foot to a rounded rim and secured with a transverse stretcher on the underside, deftly carved through layers of cinnabar lacquer with a central barbed panel depicting the Eight Immortals and Shoulao, one of them dancing in a long-sleeved robe between a crane and a deer, the God of Longevity seated among clouds holding a staff and a scroll, all against a ground of floral diapers in a fenced landscape surrounded by rocks and trees, the cavetto similarly carved with alternating lotus and chrysanthemum, repeated on the underside above lappets and simplified key-fret around the foot, the base lacquered black

The dish is overall in fairly good condition, in commensuration with its age. There are a few expected chips or old repairs to the carved lacquer, including a 1cm chip to the foliage outside the central medallion at 8 o'clock and another small one just above, a 6cm repair to the medallion border at 11 o'clock, a 9 by 2 cm section of lacquer that has cracked and been stabilised at 3 o'clock, with a couple of small losses to the lacquer revealing the fabric underlayer beneath and retouching to the medallion border, a 1cm chip to the medallion border at 5 o'clock and further minor age cracks, losses or slight touch-up to the lacquer here and there, all showing on the illustration in the catalogue. There is a 3 by 2 cm repair to the lacquer on the rim at 10 o'clock, with some retouching partly extending on the carved flowers beneath, together with further associated age cracks across the rim. There is an old orangey coloured relacquering applied to the rim. The actual colour is consistent with the catalogue illustration.
"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 dish is notable for the distinctive cloud-scroll diaper ground; compare a square tray with a related ground and similarly carved lotus scroll on the well, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 95. See also two circular boxes depicting figures in pavilions framed by clouds of this type, from the Lee Family Collection, included in the exhibition Drache und Phoenix, Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, 1990, pls 70 and 71, the latter inscribed and dated to 1543; and another, but the clouds carved in more regulated horizontal bands, the scene enclosed within a closely related bracket-lobed panel, published in Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London, 1992, pl. 82.