A rare carved cinnabar lacquer 'phoenix' dish Song dynasty | 宋 剔紅鳳穿牡丹紋盤

The present lacquer dish is unusual for its decoration, which appears to have been inspired by gold and silver wares. Compare a pair of silver cup stands, attributed to the Song dynasty, decorated with a flower scroll on a punched ground, in the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated in Chinesisches Gold und Silber, Zurich, 1994, pl. 270; and a gold saucer with peonies against a punched ground, originally attributed to the Song dynasty but later re-dated to the Yuan, published in Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Ostasiatiska Museum, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 51, sold at Christie New York, 12th September 2019, lot 572.

Compare also three lacquer dishes carved with related designs of flower blooms with combed details on a diaper ground, included in the exhibition The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China. Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics, and Metalwares, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004, cat. nos 110-112; two other examples published in Dragon and Phoenix. Chinese Lacquer Ware, The Lee Family Collection, The Museum of East Asian Art, Cologne, 1990, cat. nos 29-30, later sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1st December 2009, lots 1805-1806, the cup stand sold again in these rooms, 24th/25th November 2014, lot 1074 [https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/chinese-art-hk0525/lot.1074.html].

此剔紅漆盤，地細飾錦紋，或受金銀器所啟。對比一對珍珠地花卉紋銀盞托，斷為宋代之物，收錄在《Chinesisches Gold und Silber》，蘇黎世，1994年，圖版270。另有一金團花紋折沿盤，同飾珍珠地，原傳為宋器，後改年代為元，收入《Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection》，Ostasiatiska Museum，烏爾里瑟港，1999年，圖版51，後在2019年9月12日經紐約佳士得拍出，編號572。

以相類技法裝飾之漆器，有數例可資參考，如《宋元の美―伝来の漆器を中心に》中所載例子，錦地剔花，瓣添細線，與此相近（根津美術館，東京，2004年，編號110-112）。李氏家族收藏兩例，見《Dragon and Phoenix. Chinese Lacquer Ware, The Lee Family Collection》，東亞藝術博物館，科隆，1990年，編號29-30，後在2009年12月1日在香港佳士得易手，編號1805-1806，盞托後再售於香港蘇富比2014年11月24/25日，編號1074。