A carved box and cover

Yuan dynasty, 14th century
China

height: 12.7 cm
width: 25 cm

The octagonal lobed and domed brown lacquer box is carved with flowers of the four seasons, against a gold background, on four equal horizontal bands; the upper and lower bands are canted on an angle, and each band sectioned off into eight along the lobed lines. The flat top is decorated with a scene of two different birds in flight amongst lotus flowers, leaves and other water plants – all densely packed within an octagonal frame; the foot is carved with a key fret. The decoration on the birds and flowers is finely detailed with the use of engraved lines; the veins on the back of the large lotus flowers change to a raised decoration. These details have been lightly worn and polished, over time, in some of the more raised and exposed areas – resulting in a patina reminiscent of tortoiseshell. The design as a whole is remarkably brought to life, and given clarity, by the use of the gold ground.

similar examples
‘Carved Lacquer’, The Tokugawa Art Museum, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, 1984 – figures 42, 43 and 76.

A carved dish in The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (accession no. B83M9) also has the same gold background. The piece is exhibited as Song, but we believe that it is more likely to be Yuan.