Cinnabar lacquer incense box
Xuande period, 1426 – 1435
Diameter: 8.2 cm | 3 1/4 in

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Divided into two equal parts, the small circular box and cover is deeply carved on a thick wood base – with the same design on both halves. The decoration consists of seven lotus seeds within a hexagonal scalloped pod, surrounded by a plaited patterned band encircled by eight lotus petals on the curved sides. The central seed pod is raised on the cover but inset on the base – the latter’s plaited band acting as the foot rim.

Similar examples: Oriental Lacquer Art by Lee Yu-kuan, published by John Weatherhill, New York, 1972 – figure 113.

Possessing the Past, Treasures from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, by Wen Fong and James Watt, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1996 – plate 265. Carved Lacquer, The Tokugawa Art Museum, Nezu Institute of Fine Arts, 1984 – figure 121.