A large mother-of-pearl inlaid black lacquer quatrefoil tray, Ming dynasty, 16th century

Lot 1228. A large mother-of-pearl inlaid black lacquer quatrefoil tray, Ming dynasty, 16th century; 16 7/8 in. (42.8 cm.) long. Estimate USD 50,000 - USD 70,000. Price realised USD 162,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The shaped tray is inlaid with a scene of the three officials watching an attendant feeding a crane in a court surrounded by pine, bamboo and prunus, the 'Three Friends of Winter', while a lady and another figure observe from an adjacent pavilion, cloth box.

Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co., New York, July 2009.

Note: Compare the mother-of-pearl-inlaid black lacquer octagonal dish of petal-lobed outline decorated with a related scene of figures in a garden, dated to the second half of the 16th century, illustrated by J. C. Y. Watt and B. B. Ford, East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, pp. 135-6, no. 60. The dating of the Irving dish is based on its similarity to other dishes of this type, all of which have "pictorial designs that correspond to woodblock prints of the Wanli" period. The authors also discuss the openwork cutting of the shell inlay and how it appears to be typical of the period. Particularly noteworthy are the rendering of the face and wave-ground robe of the lady in the pavilion on the present dish which is very similar to that seen on the ladies on the Irving dish.

Dish with figures in a landscape, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), 16th century. Black lacquer with inlaid mother-of-pearl. H. 1/8 in.; Diam. 10 5/8 in.(27 cm). Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015, 2015.500.1.13. © 2000–2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.