A FINE GURI LACQUER BOX AND COVER

拍品描述

A FINE GURI LACQUER BOX AND COVER Japan, early 20th century, Taisho (1912-1926) to early Showa era (1926-1989) Rectangular in form, fitted with a cover featuring gently chamfered edges, and exquisitely coated in a thick layer of black lacquer interspersed with multiple thin red layers, delicately carved with stylized ruyi motifs of varying sizes, arranged symmetrically across each surface. The interior finished in a finely polished vermilion lacquer. HEIGHT 10.2 cm, LENGTH 23.9 cm The decorative technique known in Japan as ‘guri’ corresponds in Chinese to ‘tixi’, a term referring to grooves whose layered appearance evokes the texture of rhinoceros horn (‘ti’, to carve; ‘xi’, rhinoceros). This technique is typically characterized by scrolling motifs carved in high relief, as in the present box, with surfaces polished to a rounded fullness and set off by deeply incised narrow channels. This carving method produces an effect of tightly compressed elastic forms and imparts a sense of dynamic vitality characteristic of carved lacquer. The sculptural force of the relief is so pronounced that it ultimately supersedes the functional identity of the object, which presents itself less as a utilitarian container than as a work of sculpture.

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