The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Plate with Peony Decoration

Plate with Peony Decoration

late 1300s-early 1400s
(1271-1368)
carved cinnabar lacquer on wood
Diameter: 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Collection 1977.6
Location: not on view

Description

This lacquer dish of strikingly deep red color is decorated with a dynamically carved design of three peony blossoms. Because of the complexity in lacquer production, items are often small and were seldom made for daily use. Lacquer was traditionally made using the sap of the lacquer tree found in southern China. Many successive layers of lacquer would be applied until the surface could be carved into complex geometric or figural forms. Red became the preferred color for lacquerware carvings, in part because the color has long been associated with good fortune in China.
  • ?–1964
    Sir Percival David [1892–1964], London, England, by descent to his wife Lady David
    1964–1976
    Lady Sheila Jane Yorke Hardy David [1914–?], London, England
    December 14, 1976
    (Sotheby's, London, 14 December, 1976, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1977–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Chinese Exhibition; A Commemorative Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, November 1935-March 1936. London: Faber and Faber, 1936. no. 1027
    The Arts of the Ming Dynasty; An Exhibition Organised by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society, November 15th to December 14th, 1957 at the Arts Council Gallery. London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1958 Reproduced: no. 231, pl. 59
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 345 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1977.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 1 (1978): 2–42. Mentioned: cat. no. 139, pp. 5 andcle 43, Reproduced: cat. no. 139, p. 32 www.jstor.org
  • Greeting the Spring (Chinese art rotation, galleries 240a, 239, 241c). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 11-August 13, 2017).
    The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).
    Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
    The Arts of the Ming Dynasty. Arts Council Gallery, The Arts Council of Great Britain and the Oriental Ceramic Society. London, UK (November 15-December 14, 1957).
    International Exhibition of Chinese Art. Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England (November 1935-March 1936).
  • {{cite web|title=Plate with Peony Decoration|url=false|author=|year=late 1300s-early 1400s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.6