36 | Tixi lacquer dish Southern Song dynasty, 1127 – 1279 Diameter: 13.3 cm | 5 1/4 in Click image for full-size version The interior of this circular shallow dish is carved with three pommel scroll bands; they consist of a central circular swirl, a middle scalloped star-shaped section – containing a simplified pommel pattern, and a broad outer band of fully formed pommel scrolls. These repeating and confronting curves are each centered by an abstract bird’s head, and are specific to the Southern Song dynasty; this also applies to the exterior decoration – a single undulating borderless line that sweeps from the top to the bottom edges of the tray, with double scroll offshoots. The recessed base forms a foot rim. Tixi lacquer (also known as guri) is formed by building up alternating layers of contrasting colours that are exposed when carved; this produces a rhythm of colour that complements the repeating abstract designs. Similar examples: The Colors and Forms of Song and Yuan China, Featuring Lacquerwares, Ceramics and Metalwares, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, Tokyo, 2004 – no. 65 illustrates a small Southern Song cup – decorated with pommel scrolls of the same design; the reverse side of a tray (no. 68) with a similar outside band of decoration – also dated to the Southern Song dynasty – is illustrated on page 142.