A RARE LARGE TIANQI AND QIANGJIN LACQUER ALTAR TABLE
WanliThe rectangular top colourfully decorated with a garden landscape scene depicting various plants and flowers including bamboo, lingzhi, magnolia and peony trees between rocks, and a small bird perched on a rocky outcrop, all reserved on a floral diaper red and gold ground, the table sides and the square-section legs all decorated with designs of leafy scrolling lotus blooms, the openwork apron with blossoming chrysanthemums within meandering scrolling tendrils, the legs terminating in hoof feet. 225.5cm (88 6/8in) wide x 89cm (35in) high x 64cm (25 2/8in) deep.
注脚
明萬曆 填漆戧金花鳥紋條桌Provenance: a Belgian private collectionChristie's London, 10 November 2015, lot 378An important European private collection來源:比利時私人收藏倫敦佳士得,2015年11月10日,拍品編號378歐洲重要私人收藏Impressive in size and lavishly decorated with polychrome lacquer deigns, the present table displays a remarkable degree of labour, which would suggest its probable creation in an Imperial workshop. The qiangjin (incised lines filled with gold) technique was developed as early as the Warring Sates period. It was widely adopted on lacquer wares from the Song dynasty and was used on Imperial lacquer wares during the Ming dynasty. The history of tianqi, a subtype of the caiqi technique of colour lacquering, can be traced back to as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Although the earliest time when these two techniques were first used together on lacquer wares remains unknown, during the 16th century a large number of lacquer works were made combining the qiangjin and caiqi techniques.When combined with qiangjin, the gold lines and polychrome lacquer created a rather colourful and dazzling effect. A number of furniture pieces, such as tables, stools, incense stands were made during the Jiajing and Wanli periods, testifying to the Court's great interest in lacquered furniture at this time. Compare, for example, a rectangular lacquered table decorated with designs of flowers and birds, Ming dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures from the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2002, p.108, no.91.The subjects depicted on the table top invoke auspicious symbolism conveyed through the use of birds and flower designs. Peonies mudan were also known in China as fugui, presumably following the popularity enjoyed by flowers among members of the Imperial families during the Tang dynasty. By their character and pronunciation, they convey blessings for happiness, fu, and noble/rich/high rank, gui. In conjunction with rocks (symbolic of endurance), magnolias (representing beauty and fertility), and magpies (homophones with jue, meaning high rank), peonies represent a visual rebus for the multiple blessings of wealth, longevity, progeny and advancement in career. The shape of the present table is similar to a rosewood table, Ming dynasty, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2002, p.111, no.94. Compare the flower and birds designs on a red lacquer table, Ming dynasty, illustrated ibid., p.108, no.92.整桌木胎戧金彩漆,桌面髹赭黃色,並以朱漆填勾錦紋作地,描漆繪花鳥竹石等園林景緻,漆面受刀處皆戧金,各式花卉爭奇鬥艷。無束腰,方材直腿內翻馬蹄。足端四面刻繪玲瓏賞石,其上生出纏枝番蓮,遍布桌腿及冰盤沿,羅鍋棖及矮老亦滿飾纏枝花卉,華彩煥然。裝飾之華麗,工藝之細膩,表明本桌或出自宮廷作坊工匠之手,是一件不可多得的明代家具珍品。戧金,即指在器物上淺刻出線條紋飾,並在刻痕內填金的工藝。始見於戰國,宋代起用於漆器裝飾,至明朝時更為流行,並大量用於宮廷漆器。彩漆工藝發軔時期更為久遠,先秦時期便有廣泛運用,其工藝又細分成「填漆」和「描漆」兩種,至於戧金和彩漆工藝何時結合,學界尚無定論,惟可見明嘉靖以來,戧金彩漆家具有大量存世。一例明紅木條桌,收錄於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集:明清家具》,香港,2002年,頁111,編號94,造型可與本例比較。另可參考一件明填漆花鳥圖長方桌,桌面裝飾紋樣可與本例比對,出處同上,頁108,編號92。
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