A MOTHER-OF-PEARL-INLAID BLACK LACQUER RECTANGULAR TRAY, JOSEON DYNASTY
Korea, 16th-17th century. With a wide flaring rim, superbly decorated with stylized lotus flowers on scrolling vines, to the interior with stylized auspicious symbols topping each flower, the base lacquered cinnabar red.

Provenance: Gerard Hawthorn LTD Oriental Art, London, UK, 24 April 2008. A noted private collection in Abcoude, Netherlands, acquired from the above. A copy of the invoice, erroneously describing the piece as Chinese and from the Ming dynasty, accompanies this lot.
Condition: Excellent condition commensurate with age, old wear, crackling, a small loss to one corner with associated touchup, the interior with four and the exterior with two replaced inlays (inspected under strong blue light) out of more than 200 inlays in total.

Weight: 639 g
Dimensions: Size 4.3 x 31.7 x 19.2 cm

Although they superficially resemble and, indeed, are often incorrectly termed as orchids, or even peony blossoms, the flowers depicted on this tray actually are stylized lotus blossoms, as indicated by the appearance of the associated buds. The stylized blossoms, which are known as byeonryeon in Korean, likely first appeared in the silk textiles of China's Song dynasty (960-1279). Popularized in Chinese porcelains of the Yuan (1279-1368) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, the foreign lotus design, or fanlianwen, spread to Korea early in the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) and was incorporated into the decorative schemes of Korean blue-and-white porcelain, buncheong ware, and inlaid lacquers.

Though little is known of the earliest history of lacquer-making in Korea, archaeological evidence indicates that Korean craftsmen were making lacquered objects at least two thousand years ago, in the late Neolithic and early historic periods. By the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) Koreans were producing elegant lacquer vessels and sutra-storage chests in black lacquer embellished with small floral designs inlaid in mother of pearl, the designs occasionally augmented with small, twisted, metal wires inset as borders and as the stems in floral arabesques. The tradition of inlaid lacquers continued into the succeeding Joseon dynasty (1392-1910), usually in black lacquer with bold floral designs inlaid in mother of pearl.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related foliate-shaped tray, of larger size and dated to the 17th-18th century at Christie's New York in Japanese and Korean Art on 18 April 2018, lot 141, sold for USD 137,500. Compare also with a related but larger stationery box at Christie's New York in Japanese and Korean Art on 22 September 2020, lot 252, sold for USD 81,250, and another at Sotheby's Hong Kong in Asian Lacquer on 27 May 2014, lot 902, sold for HKD 750,000.