A RARE AND LARGE TIXI LACQUER BOWL, YUAN DYNASTY China, 1279-1368. The deep rounded sides rising from a short foot to an everted rim. Deeply carved through multiple layers of black and red lacquer with a characteristic sword-pommel (guri) pattern to the exterior, the recessed base similarly carved with a scroll design.

Provenance: The Mee-Din and Robert W. Moore Collection. Robert W. Moore is a famed California collector of Chinese and Korean art, whose passion began in the 1950s when he served in the US Army and was stationed in Korea. After his return to the United States, he began collecting Korean and later also Chinese works of art, and over the following decades became a very knowledgeable, discerning, and influential collector.
Condition: One small section of the lacquer (approx. 1.5 x 1 cm) is an old replacement. The bowl otherwise in superb, original condition, with old wear, age cracks, and small losses as expected. The pewter lining with extensive wear, traces of use, small dents, few minuscule nicks, and light scratches, as well as a fine, naturally grown patina.

Weight: 238.6 g
Dimensions: Diameter 13.6 cm

Expert’s note: While the guri pattern executed in tixi technique as found on the present lot is relatively common in lacquer bowls from the Song to Ming dynasties, the scroll decoration to the recessed base appears to be extremely rare, with – to the knowledge of this author – no comparable examples recorded in public collections.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bowl, also dated to the Yuan dynasty, at Sotheby’s London in Important Chinese Art on 16 May 2018, lot 35, bought-in at an estimate of GBP 20,000-30,000.

元代罕見剔犀雲紋碗
中國，1279-1368年。直口、弧腹、臥足內凹。外壁漆層為褐色與朱色交替重疊，漆色呈褐色帶紅，雕刻成雲頭如意紋圖案，刀口斷面磨得圓潤光滑。漆碗內鑲的銀裏，銀裏的口沿反轉後嵌入漆碗口沿中，銀裏邊與漆碗口黏合得相當緊密，融為一體。

來源：Mee-Din 與Robert W. Moore 中國收藏。Robert W. Moore是加州著名的中國和韓國藝術收藏家，他的收藏熱情始於 1950 年代。當時他在美國軍隊服役並駐紮在韓國。回到美國後，他開始收藏韓國和中國的藝術品，在之後幾十年裡，他成為了一位知識淵博、眼光敏銳、影響深遠的收藏家。
品相：局部約 1.5 x 1 厘米是舊時修補，其他方面原始狀態極好，舊時磨損、老化的裂縫和小缺損。 錫合金有大量磨損、使用痕跡、小凹痕、極少的細小刻痕和輕微劃痕，以及自然生長的包漿。

重量：238.6 克
尺寸：直徑 13.6 厘米

專家注釋：本拍品中剔犀如意紋，在宋明漆碗中較為常見，而其中的捲紋飾則極為罕見，據筆者所知，目前善無公共收藏中有此例記錄。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件同樣為元代的剔犀碗，見倫敦蘇富比Important Chinese Art 2018年5月16日 lot 35, 估價 GBP 20,000-30,000。