AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE LARGE CINNABAR LACQUER 'PHOENIX AND PEONY' DISH 14th centuryAN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE LARGE CINNABAR LACQUER 'PHOENIX AND PEONY' DISH14th centuryThe interior exquisitely carved through layers of red lacquer with a pair of confronted phoenix with outstretched wings and long tail plumage flying amidst peony blossoms wreathed in profuse foliage, all supported on a short tapered foot with a key-fret border, the underside carved with floral scrolls, the base lacquered black. 34.5cm (13 5/8in) diam.十四世紀 剔紅鳳穿牡丹紋盤Provenance: acquired in Shanghai by the father of the present owner in the 1930's, and thence by descent來源：二十世紀三十年代，由現藏家之父購自上海，並由後人保存迄今The present lot is notable for the attention to detail, observed in both the complex composition and the intricate carving of the feathers and petals of the birds and flowers. No other dish with this design appears to be recorded. However, this vibrant design of a pair of soaring birds surrounded by dense foliage has its roots in the Southern Song dynasty. See for example a Song dynasty prototype of the design, on a box preserved in the Engaku-ji, Kamakura, included in So Gen no bi: denrai no shiki o chushin ni, Tokyo, 2004, no.92.The design continued however, into the Yuan and early Ming periods. See a similar cinnabar lacquer dish with camellias and birds, Yuan dynasty, but with later Xuande six-character mark, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, p.13, no.7. See also a similar treatment of the foliage on a cinnabar lacquer tray, Yuan dynasty, illustrated in So Gen no bi: denrai no shiki o chushin ni, Tokyo, 2004, no.95.See also a cinnabar lacquer carved dish with long-tailed birds and hibiscus, mid 14th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, illustrated in The World of Khubilai Khan: Chinese Art in the Yuan Dynasty, New York, 2010, p.270, fig.291. Several features help date this dish to the 14th century including the composition of two birds circling one another; furthermore, the lush hollyhock blossoms, shown from multiple perspectives, have petals of different sizes that overlap to suggest depth. The present lot also has peony blossom petals of different sizes overlapping and a rich three-dimensionality to the surface.