Minneapolis Institute of Art

Circular Box

China

Date

1403–27

Medium

Carved red lacquer (tihong)

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The court wares of the early fifteenth century are generally considered amongst the finest of all Chinese carved lacquer. This well-crafted circular box bears the six-character imperial reign mark of the Yongle (1403-1424) emperor on its base. Fine craftsmanship was always stressed in imperial ware. The base coatings alone could consist of over 100 layers of polished lacquer allowing for the deeply carved motifs with soft contours and rounded edges typical of the style. The landscape scene on this box was derived from the prestigious painted landscape tradition, a tradition where philosophical themes such as humanity’s relationship to nature took precedence over the purely decorative motifs like flowers or geometric patterns. China, Asia

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