A BLACK AND RED LACQUER BOX, COVER AND TRAY YUAN DYNASTY, 14TH CENTURY

the black-lacquer exterior of the box and cover lobed and applied with pewter wire to resemble ten lotus petals, the flat foliated top with concentric pewter-wire bands originally holding a mother-of-pearl medallion at the center, fitted with a black-lacquer tray, the interior of the box, cover, and tray lacquered red (3)

The box, cover, and tray with multiple cracks to the wood core, most significantly separation at the edges of the circular base and top and a crack across the tray. The adhesive applied to these breaks has since cracked with age. Retouching in red paint and black lacquer to multiple areas. Small losses, cracks, and lifting to the lacquer throughout commensurate with age.
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 boxes with interior trays and compartments date to at least the Han dynasty, and were typically used to hold cosmetics and other personal articles. A nearly identical Yuan period box and cover in the Royal Ontario Museum is illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth, Chinese Treasures of the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1992, cat. no. 115. A box of this type, but with the mother-of-pearl medallion, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is included in James C. Y. Watt and Barbara Brennan Ford, East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, New York, 1991, pl. 3. A closely related box and cover sold at Christie's Paris, 22nd November 2005, lot 83.