Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer

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Lacquer craftsmanship flourished in China during the Warring States period (475–221 B.C.) and the Western Han dynasty; and important workshops are known to have been active in both Sichuan and Hunan Provinces at that time. Most of the lacquers produced during the period, such as this example, are painted works in which the material was colored with minerals and used as a pigment. The interior of this bowl is painted red using lacquer that has been colored with cinnabar. The same pigment decorates the exterior of the bowl, which has a black background created by mixing the lacquer with carbon. The powerful geometric design, which includes sharp angles, dots, and curves, may ultimately derive from earlier zoomorphic motifs such as dragons or other mythical creatures.

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This box, which was most likely used to hold incense or cosmetics, has the slightly domed lid and shallow bowl with straight flaring sides commonly found in lacquer and ceramics from the thirteenth century. Tree peonies, chrysanthemums, and other flowers are carved on the lid and along the sides. These lacquer motifs are carved above a muddy background that is typical of early Chinese carved lacquers. A surprising number of early Chinese lacquers are preserved in Japan; some are in the holdings of temples and were acquired when monks traveled between centers in both countries, others are in imperial and aristocratic collections and may once have served as diplomatic gifts. An inscription in the interior of this box reads Shokaku-in and indicates that it was once in the holdings of a sub-temple within a larger Japanese monastic complex.

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The design on this box is often called a pommel scroll because it resembles the pommel of a Chinese sword. This decoration is one of the more common motifs in the three-dimensional arts of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and is also found later in lacquer. Its meaning, if any, has not yet been deciphered. The freedom seen in the rendering of the scrolls carved onto the surface of this box points to a production date in the thirteenth century. In later examples, the pommel scrolls are more rigidly depicted and fill the surface in a tighter pattern. Moreover, a close examination of the surface of the box (see detail) shows layers of yellow and green lacquer that have been interspersed among the dominant red. This layering, which gives a subtle depth to the surface of the box, is more commonly found in works dating to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

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This plate is a masterpiece both for its size and for the liveliness of the rendering of woman and children in a luxurious garden setting. It illustrates the movement and dimensionality that characterizes lacquer carving in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, one of the high points of this artistic tradition. The complexity of the lacquer carving at this time is also shown in the use of different patterns for the background: the children are playing against a diamond-shaped ground (see detail); the waves of the pond with ducks and lotuses are shown as undulating horizontal lines (see detail); and the distant sky is composed of thinner horizontal lines punctuated with dots or ties. The theme of children at play is expressive of the wish for offspring and the joy of having them. The pomegranate treewhose seeds are symbolic of progenyis shown behind the large rock where the children play hide-and-seek, reinforcing this idea. The garments worn by the women and children follow styles prominent in earlier periods, as does the hat worn by the child dressed up as a gentleman at the lower right (see detail). (This type of hat was made fashionable by the poet-official Su Shi (1036–1101), the most admired poet-official of his generation and a figure beloved during succeeding centuries.) The dressed-up youth is escorted by three other boys, one carrying a parasol, and seems to be part of a procession that includes two additional children riding hobby horses and another pair who hold a banner and a baton.

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Compositions showing two birds aboveor possibly withinflowers are among the most ubiquitous themes in Chinese carved lacquer of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In this example, two lively birds flit among hollyhocks with lush blossoms and thin leaves. The tails and wings of the birds have been carefully placed to enhance the round shape of the dish. The exposed black ground links the dish to the thirteenth century. An inscription incised into the left side of the base (see detail), however, reads "Zhang Cheng," one of the most famous lacquer artists in Chinese history, who is known to have been active in the mid- to late fourteenth century. An additional inscription written in red lacquer in the center of the base (see detail), on the other hand, is most likely the mark of a previous owner. It can be read as Yingchuan dong fang in Chinese but is more probably the Japanese Egawa tobo.

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Often found in both lacquer and ceramics, the traditional flowers of the four seasonstree peony (spring) at the upper right, pomegranate (summer) at the upper left, chrysanthemum (autumn) at the lower left, and camellia (winter) at the lower leftfill the borders of this lozenge-shaped dish. A scene showing a scholar gentleman with a young attendant carrying a zither decorates the center of the dish. This scene follows a compositional device often used in Chinese painting and decorative arts: the foreground showing the tops of two rocks and the gentleman and his assistant is seen from above; the middle ground with larger rocks, a plantain, and the interior of the pavilion is read in a direct line; and the background of the sky and the top of the pine tree is viewed from below.

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The arrangement of the decoration of this box, in which one scene is found on the top (see detail) and another along the sides, typifies carved lacquers. On the cover, two men are seated on stools on a veranda overlooking a body of water. One man is playing a zither, the other listens. Three attendants, one inside the nearby pavilion, are also enjoying the concert. As was customary during the Ming dynasty, incense was burned during the performance. Scenes such as this, which extol the accomplishments of the scholarly class, became popular in Chinese painting and decorative arts in the fourteenth century. The flowers of the four seasons carved along the sides were also common motifs in the fourteenth and early fifteenth century: tree peony (spring), pomegranate (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn), and camellia (winter). The base of the box carries an incensed mark reading Da Ming Yongle nian zhi or "made in the Yongle reign of the Great Ming". Although this could be the actual date, the box may have been made ten or twenty years earlier and incised during the Yongle period when the adding of such reign marks became popular in Chinese lacquer and ceramics.

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A vigorous, sinewy dragon with flowing mane and beard, tufts of hair at the joints, a prominent snout and horns, and long whiskers is often found on works in porcelain, lacquer, and other materials produced during the reign of the Yongle emperor. Although carved red lacquers in some number are known from this period, examples decorated in the elegant qiangjin or engraved-and-gilt technique are rare. Historical records suggest that the technique was used for small chests and pieces of furniture, however, the extant examplessuch as this box, which probably held a text or sutra in handscroll formatappear to have been produced for use in a Buddhist context. As the term implies, in the qiangjin technique a red lacquer coating is incised and then filled with gold, gold powder, or gold pigment. The lock and key on this box are original; they are cast in bronze with engraved decoration and gilding.

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This dish, which is dated by an inscription on the back, is one of the finest products of the official workshops of the Jiajing era. It was probably made during the early part of the reign, before Daoist imagery began to dominate the arts of the court. The dragon in the center holds up the Chinese character sheng, which means divine or imperial majesty. The characters fu on the right and bi on the left, which generally mean "to add" or "to support," are often used as references to the chief ministers. In this case, however, they may also refer to the dragon in the center of the dish.

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Carved lacquer that uses different colors for varying parts of a composition flourished in the sixteenth century. To prepare polychromed carved lacquer, layers of different colors are built up successively and are then cut back to reveal motifs in the desired colors. Since the design is divided into areas of color that are revealed at various levels, the resulting image can be relatively flat. This rice measure is adorned on each of its four slanted slides with a Daoist deity in the foreground and a distant landscape in the background. Daoism, which derives from the word dao ("the way" or "the path") comprises teachings and practices that lead to a metaphysical understanding of the universe, which is constantly changing. It was originally based on the works of the semi-mythical Laozi and Zhuangzhi, said to have lived during the Warring States period (ca. 475–221 B.C.). Daoism was popular in the late Ming period, particularly during the reign of the Jiajing emperor, who was a fervent practitioner and was involved in magic, fortune-telling, and the ingesting of various substances in the pursuit of immortality. On the left side of the rice measure as it is pictured here, Laozi is shown riding a black ox amid colorful swirling clouds. To his right, an unidentified deity wearing ceremonial garb and holding a scepter in both hands is accompanied by a dragon.

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Lacquer of the late Ming dynasty is characterized by its colorfulness: polychromed lacquers (see previous image) and those inlaid with gold and other colors, such as this example, are the two most popular types in the second half of the sixteenth and early seventeenth century. The engraved and filled-in decoration is similar to that in which gold is incised into a red lacquer surface (see example). Outlines such as those for the twisting dragon that fills the center of this dish (see detail) are defined with gold and then filled in with colored lacquers or powders. In some cases the decoration is also raised above the surface and then polished down to the level of the ground. This dish is one of several with similar designs produced at the court during the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572–1620) and an inscription incised into the plate gives the date of 1595. The dragons five claws also point to court production; dragons with five claws decorate works made for the emperor, while those with fewer claws are found in works made for other members of the court or for high-ranking officials. The dragon flies against a diamond-shaped background and above a rock that rises from waves, all of which were also created by carving into a red lacquer background and using green, black, and other colors for inlay.

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During the late Ming period, lacquer boxes with basketry panels were used for the presentation of gifts and documents and for storage. The top of this box is decorated with a cartouche that shows birds resting among flowers and a group of rocks, a common motif at the time that may be derived from a pattern book that was either hand-drawn or printed from wood blocks. The lacquer at the sides of the box shows the dense geometric designs that were popular in late Ming carved lacquer. In the seventeenth century, rectangular boxes with straight sides gradually replaced the round-shouldered type seen here.

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Archaism, the copying or reinterpreting of earlier (often very early) artistic traditions, was one of the defining elements in Chinese art in the eighteenth century, particularly during the long reign of the Qianlong Emperor. The form of the box is ultimately derived from a type of jade pendant of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 9) that is sometimes called a jue. It consists of an oval ring with a pointed end and is decorated with dragons. In adopting the jue shape for this lacquer box, the artist carved the dragons so that their bodies seem to wind up over the top of the box and gave them markings, such as the cloudlike shapes that decorate the bodies, legs, and tails, that can also be traced to early jade work. The carving of the dragons and the green brocade background is executed with the meticulous care that is characteristic of the eighteenth century.

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Cabinets such as thisdesigned to appear as if two separate pieces were held together by a gilt bronze handlewere standard pieces of furniture during the Qing dynasty. The two front doors open to show two compartments, each with a middle drawer. Two additional drawers are found at the top on either side of the handle. The use of raised rectangular panels against a geometric background can be traced to the lacquer of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century (see example), however the precision and density of the carving of the background is typically eighteenth century. The six panels at the front, sides, and back are decorated with scenes of figures in landscapes, an iconic theme in Chinese art. The tops of the two head drawers display scenes of deer in landscapes.

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Read from right to left, this lacquer screen shows a large compound filled with the bustling activity that accompanies a birthday celebration. The gentleman seated in the throne in the center (see detail) of the compound most likely represents Guo Ziyi (697–781), one of the most famous generals in Chinese history who was later transformed into a god of wealth and happiness. In later Chinese art, images of him celebrating an event, presumably a birthday, became a popular metaphor for such festivities. An inscription on the back of this screen indicates that it was made in honor of a certain General Zhen, who had most likely reached an auspicious moment, such as his sixtieth year. An elegant border with geometric designs and three variants of the Chinese shou or "longevity" fills the area between the top and bottom sections of the screen. The lower parts of the eight panels that compose the screen are filled with auspicious emblemsalso appropriate for a birthdaysurrounding a circular medallion. Each medallion contains vignettes with an accompanying poem. Due to its previously fragile condition, this screen has never been displayed publicly. It was recently restored and analyzed by Ms. Suzanna Shaw of the National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, who served as an Annette de la Renta Conservation Fellow at the Metropolitan in 2007 and 2008. The wooden core is covered by woven ramie at the top and bottom joints, then coated with a foundation layer prior to lacquering. The diaper patterns and other motifs that create the background consist of at least twenty-two layers of orpiment-pigmented lacquer. The raised parts of the decorationthe birthday scene in the upper part and the medallions and other designs in the lower partare made with at least fourteen layers of cinnabar-pigmented lacquer. The lacquer used for the raised designs is of higher quality than that used in the background of this engaging screen.