FINE AND RARE CINNABAR LACQUER PEONY BOX AND COVER

FINE AND RARE CINNABAR LACQUER PEONY BOX AND COVER, PROBABLY YUAN/MING, deeply carved in thick red lacquer with a central peony blossom, surround by leafy stems and further budding peony, 11cm diam Provenance: Private collection, Clifton, Bristol and thence by descent Private collection, Somerset Exhibited: City Art Gallery, Bristol until 1967, and sold with an accompanying letter from the Director of the gallery. The letter states that it bears the incised mark of Zhang Cheng, the famous Yuan dynasty maker. It no longer appears to be visible but there is a small area of presumed overpaint on the rim, which may obscure the finely incised mark. For a similar box see Christie's Important Chinese Lacquer Wares from the Lee Family Collection, Hong Kong, 3rd December 2008, lot 2118; see also, Christie's Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 30th November 2016, lot 3427