A 'qiangjin' and 'tianqi' lacquer 'dragon' recessed-leg table (Pingtouan), Qing dynasty, 18th - 19th century

Acquired from Moreau-Gobard during the 1950s by the parents of the present owner, and thence by descent.

Adorned with the vibrant scene of a dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl, this table is closely related to a small number of attested lacquer pieces produced at the height of lacquer production in the Late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and particularly those produced in the illustrious reign of the Wanli Emperor (r. 1572–1620), where the techniques of tianqi (‘filled lacquer’) and qiangjin (‘engraved gold’) reached their zenith. 

A ubiquitous symbol of the emperor and his benevolent reign, the present five-clawed dragon design was severely restricted by law in the Ming and Qing dynasties; to be used exclusively within the imperial court or for the emperor himself. With his long sinuous body, flowing mane and bushy eyebrows, the present dragon is typical of those found specifically in the Late Ming period, where dragon designs are said to have a particular vibrancy and playfulness unmatched in earlier reigns. For closely related Wanli mark and period examples of lacquer furniture with dragon designs still preserved in the Qing Court Collection at the Palace Museum, Beijing, compare: a polychrome lacquer cabinet, dated in accordance with 1607, with ogival cartouches depicting single dragons, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 172; a gilt black lacquer medicine cabinet with similar cartouches filled with pairs of confronting dragons, ibid., pl. 177; and a gilt and polychrome black lacquer set of shelves featuring similarly vibrant dragons and waves, ibid. pl. 186.

The fine quality, atypically large size and imperial subject matter of the present top panel indicate that it may have once been derived from large panels more typically associated with cabinetry. Depicting the central dragon facing to the right, the present table hints to a left-facing partner panel – likely now lost to the vicissitudes of history – that may have formed the opposing door of an original cabinet. Compare eight very closely related lacquer cabinet panels – facing in both directions – reworked in the nineteenth century as a four-panel screen, offered in our New York rooms, 14th September 2019, lot 1439.