dish BM-1980-0327.1

Period:Ming dynasty Production date:1489 (dated)
Materials:lacquer
Technique:carved, lacquered,
Subjects:bird phoenix dragon garden landscape palace/mansion literature
Dimensions:Diameter: 19 centimetres

Description:
Chinese carved polychrome lacquer dish decorated with a scene of a farewell gathering held at the Pavilion of the Prince of Teng, which is located on the city wall of Nanchang 南昌, Jiangxi Province, facing the Gan River 贛 江. The most famous gathering there was held in 675, which the poet Wang Bo (ca. 650-ca. 676) attended. On this occasion he wrote a preface to the collection of poems composed by the guests. The back of the lacquer dish is carved with part of this text (滕王阁序( Téngwáng Gé Xù, or the Preface to the Prince of Teng’s Pavilion). On the dish, the sky is full of clouds and cranes, birds symbolic of immortality. The party arriving in the foregound is accompanied by deer, also associated with immortality, and the Islands of the Immortals rise out of waves around the border of the dish. The bracketing and tiling of the buildings are executed with great intricacy. The lacquer carver has signed his name and the date of carving around the door of the pavilion. Made of lacquered (red, green, yellow, black) and carved wood.
IMG


Comments:Rawson 1992:One of the earliest known examples of polychrome carved lacquer with a pictorial scene is this small dish. Polychrome carved lacquer gained in popularity, reaching a highpoint in the late Ming dynasty (sixteenth to seventeenth century). Michaelson 2006:This carved polychrome lacquer dish is decorated with a scene from a famous 4th-century drinking and poetry party at the Lanting (Orchid Pavilion) in Zhejiang province.It is most unusual for a craftsman to sign his name on such an object, as most such crafts were made anonymously. Jan Stuart, March 2010The correct subject of this dish is a farewell gathering and literary party held at the Pavilion of the Prince of Teng (in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province). The reverse of the plate is carved with lines from Wang Bo’s preface written to accompany the collection of poems created on this occasion in 675 .For an English translation of Wang Bo’s prose and poem, see: Richard E. Strassberg, Inscribed Landscapes: Travel Writing from Imperial China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California, Berkeley, 1982), 105–109.