Chapter 1916: The magnificent one is a royal weapon
Zhang Yingwen of the Ming Dynasty commented on carvings in "Secret Collection of the Qing Dynasty": "The people of the Song Dynasty carved red lacquerware, and the ones used in the palace were mostly made of gold and silver. The beauty is that the knife technique is mature and the hidden peaks are not exposed. The vermilion is extremely fresh, and the lacquer is extremely strong and thick.
There are no cracks, and the landscapes, pavilions, and figures engraved on them all look like paintings, which is extremely beautiful."
The lacquer carvings of the Yongle and Xuande periods inherited the style of Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao's products in the late Yuan Dynasty. The knife technique was smooth and smooth, with a clear hidden edge. They were mostly decorated with flowers, dragons and phoenixes, landscape figures, etc. The patterns were thick, round, full and rich.
Among the representative works is Yongle's carved red phoenix pattern lamp holder, which is 9.7 in height, 9.7 in diameter, 16.9 in plate diameter, and 8.4 in foot diameter.
The cup holder is composed of three parts: a round mouth, a sunflower-shaped plate and an outer ring foot.
The whole body is on a plain ground of yellow paint, with carved red paint patterns.
The outer wall of the mouth and the plate are carved with two phoenixes flying in the clouds, and the outer wall of the plate and the base of the circle are carved with cloud patterns.
The base is hollow from the inside to the foot, the walls are painted with ocher paint, and the "Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty" script is inscribed on one side of the inside foot.
Lacquer lamp holders appeared in the Song Dynasty, and they were all made of plain lacquer, while carved lacquer lamp holders existed in the Yuan Dynasty, but they were only rhinoceros-cut works.
There are many Yongle lamps decorated with floral patterns. There are only two examples of phoenix and bird patterns that have been handed down from generation to generation. Both are extremely exquisite. This is one of them.
The mark of the lamp holder is engraved on the right side of the inner wall of the foot, which is opposite to the mark of the plate and box on the left side of the sole of the foot.
Yongle palace lacquer products are mainly carved lacquers, with the largest quantity being Tihong.
Gao Lian's "Yan Xianqing Appreciation Notes" states that the red lacquerware produced by the Orchard Factory in the Ming Dynasty was "painted thirty-six times with vermilion" and was made with exquisite craftsmanship.
The lamp holder is carved with a red phoenix pattern, the colors are gorgeous, the pattern is clear and lively, and it is a typical lacquer carving style in the early Ming Dynasty.
The National Palace Museum in Shendu has a Yongle lamp holder of this shape with the same artistic style.
Round box with red cloud and dragon pattern, Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, height 6.6 cm, diameter 17 cm.
The whole body of the box is yellow lacquer and the ground is carved with vermilion lacquer. The cover is decorated with diamond-shaped brocade and the pattern of clouds and dragons playing with beads.
The body of the dragon is relatively thick, and the entire hair flows diagonally from the back to the front.
The head is flat and thin, with erect eyebrows that are almost flame-shaped, a Ruyi-shaped nose, and a short lower jaw with a longer mustache, similar to a goat's beard.
The limbs and claws are thick and powerful, with the typical characteristics of dragon patterns in the early Ming Dynasty.
The wall of the box is carved with plain yellow lacquer with cloud patterns in the shape of a wish, and the black lacquer on the inner and outer bottoms is bright and has no broken lines, which seems to have been repainted by later generations.
The left side of the outsole is engraved with gold-filled regular script inscriptions "Made in the Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty", but the regular script inscription "Made in the Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty" is faintly visible underneath.
Based on this, it is speculated that the lacquer box should have been made during the Yongle period, and the Xuande model was engraved later.
The most common dragon pattern in the Ming Dynasty is five claws. Among the four dragon claws carved on the lid of this lacquer box, the one close to the body has four claws, and the three farther away from the body all have five claws.
But after careful observation, we will find that one of the four claws was originally five claws. After removing one claw, the dragon body was re-carved.
Among the three five-clawed claws, one finger was broken off. It seems that they were all five-clawed at first, and the fingers and palms were connected. Later, they went through the process of removing one claw and remaking it.
The reasons are intriguing and require further research in the future.
"Records of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty" records that in the third year of Hongwu, "an imperial edict was issued to the province, prohibiting official and civilian uniforms from being decorated with yellow, and color paintings of ancient emperors, concubines, sages, stories, suns, moons, dragons, phoenixes, lions, etc."
"If the shape of a unicorn, rhinoceros, or elephant remains the same as before, it will be destroyed within a hundred days."
It can be seen that this lacquer box decorated with dragon patterns could only be viewed or used by the emperor at that time.
Generally, the red box contains sugarcane segments, steamed cakes, and three-bang equation.
The figures in the sugarcane section are the top, and the steamed cakes, flowers and plants are the second.
The plates are round, square, octagonal, tapered, four-cornered, and peony petal style.
The boxes are available in long, square, two-bump, and three-bang types.
The method is to use vermilion paint thirty-six times, carve out fine brocade, base paint with black light, and needle-engraved the Yongle year of the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the style of Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao in the Yuan Dynasty, the sword is surrounded by vanilla, which seems to be too much.
This briefly describes the quality, shape, type and inscription of the lacquerware produced by the Yongle Orchard Factory in the Ming Dynasty.
The inscription method of a large number of handed down water music lacquerware that we see now is completely consistent with what Gao recorded.
The inscription method of Yongle lacquerware follows the private engraving method of the Yuan Dynasty.
The lacquer artists Zhang Cheng and Yang Mao of the Yuan Dynasty often used a needle to mark the three characters "Zhang Cheng Zao" or "Yang Mao Zao" at the bottom of their works.
This method is also adopted for the Yongle model. Usually, a needle is used to mark the inner edge of the bottom of the vessel with the straight line "Made in the Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty".
The notches are thin and shallow, the strokes are slender, and the font is elegant, like running script, but slightly less neat.
The location of the Yongle model is mostly on the left side of the inner edge of the bottom of the vessel, and a few on the right side of the inner edge of the bottom.
The brightly carved round box with red cloud and dragon pattern adopts the method of using a needle to mark the inner edge of the bottom with the straight line "Made in the Yongle Year of the Ming Dynasty".
The notches are thin and shallow, the strokes are slender, and the font is elegant, like running script, but slightly less neat.
The location of the Yongle model is mostly on the left side of the inner edge of the bottom of the vessel, and a very few are on the right side of the inner edge of the bottom of the vessel.
Ming Dynasty official-made lacquerware has clear chronological markings on it, which provides a scientific basis for accurately identifying the specific age of the lacquerware.
The dragon pattern after the Ming and Qing Dynasties had different meanings for different classes.
The emperor used the dragon pattern to describe himself. Among the people, the dragon symbolized mighty power.
After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the dragon pattern has undergone many changes in decoration. Some are paired with right-angled geometric patterns, which are called kaizi dragons, and some are decorated with flowers and plants, called grass dragons.
Among the furniture decorations of northern nomads, dragon patterns are not very likely to appear.
This phenomenon reflects the characteristics of regional culture, that is, most of the furniture objects collected are from the folk, and there are few opportunities for dragon patterns to appear.
Even if it appears, it is not drawn according to the royal customs of the Han nation.
From the Yongle era to the Ming Dynasty, Xuande lacquerware was made with sophisticated craftsmanship. The paint used became thicker and thinner, and the patterns became denser and thinner.
The round box with red dragon and phoenix patterns is a typical utensil of the Xuande period. The pattern of dragons and phoenixes is majestic and magnificent, and it is a utensil for imperial use.
Among them, the Xuande round box with red dragon and phoenix patterns is a classic among classics. There are many other red boxes like this, such as the red round box with nine dragon patterns.
A round box with red dragon and phoenix patterns from Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, 8.2 cm high and 19.8 cm in diameter, belongs to the collection of the Qing Dynasty.
The whole body is carved with red lacquer patterns on the plain yellow lacquer ground, and the cover is decorated with cloud and dragon patterns. The dragon's hair is forward, the mouth is closed, the body is curved and strong, and the eyes are dotted with black lacquer.
The walls of the vessel are decorated with cloud patterns. The inside and bottom of the box are painted with black gloss paint.
The imperial poem for filling gold: "Yongle created vermilion lacquer, Wen Sun should see it. It was originally made from Guoyuan, and it is also similar to Kentang. The coloring layer is covered with ocher, and the carvings are finely drawn into silk. Each of the nine dragons has a little bit of it, and the powder is made by Weng Yi. Qianlong's Wuxu imperial title."
And there are two small seals of "Qian" and "Long".
On the left side of the outsole is engraved in gold regular script: "Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty" with six characters in vertical lines.
The carcass of this box is thick, the paint is thick, the paint color is pure, and the paint quality is delicate.
The carving is round, the knife is skillful, the grinding is smooth, and the pattern is compact.
The dragon pattern is carved vigorously and powerfully, reflecting the characteristics of Xuande Dynasty lacquerware in all aspects.
The Jiajing and Wanli dynasties were the prosperous periods of carved lacquer production in the Ming Dynasty, characterized by advocating intricate and delicate workmanship and gorgeous workmanship.
The composition is rigorous and restrained, the sword technique is delicate and sharp, and the decorative patterns are mainly Taoist themes and content expressing longevity, immortality, longevity and auspiciousness.