Description
The Chinese have long used images of flowers, plants, animals to convey auspicious wishes. Often this is the result of the tonal nature of the Chinese (spoken) language, in which one sound may be associated with several distinct meanings. The word for fish (魚) is one example, which has the same sound as the word for abundance (裕). Consequently, carp are seen as embodying the concept of wealth.
Fish in particular, have been an endless source of inspiration in Chinese art (especially paintings) for what seems like an eternity. In the early 12th century, raising rare fish in ponds became vogue and the subject of playful fish splashing in aquatic gardens became a popular subject to be depicted.
Carp are also associated with the “longmen legend” (龙门), or “Dragon Gate” in which carp swim upstream against strong currents; the strongest and bravest eventually making the final jump over the longmen falls, and transformed into mythical dragons. This well-known story has spawned the common idiom “carp jumps over the Dragon Gate (鲤跃龙门) which conveys the image of a sudden uplifting of one’s social status. While there are few ways that might occur, the most common would be surmounting the difficulties involved in passing the imperial examinations. A common saying is that “a student facing his examinations is like a carp, attempting to leap the Dragon Gate.”
As fish grow and age, their journeys through the water can be seen as a parallel to the aging process. Scenes involving feeding fish may also be symbolic of the various stages of life, as one progresses from the innocence of youth to the wisdom that comes with age.
Perhaps the imagery of this elder scholar accompanying the younger apprentice feeding fish, alludes to nurturing future “carp” that will one day leap the Dragons Gate, becoming scholars themselves and filled with wisdom and knowledge.
This box is of circular form, made of a deep burgundy lacquer over a wood core. The shallow relief carving depicts two figures, perhaps a father and son, or scholar and apprentice, both resting on a raised outcrop in a garden, the different surfaces separated by a dividing line with each surface depicted in a slightly different “ground diaper.” The younger figure is feeding two carp, a very warm and friendly scene. A tree overhangs on the right side and the overall composition is weighted and balanced by the rocks at the base of the image. A continuous keyfret border encircles the box along the sides. The interior and base lacquered black.
Dating this piece to the 15th century is apparent when considering that boxes of this kind were exported to Japan as “incense boxes” as early as the 1400ies according to historical records preserved in Japan (see Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer P102). Used by the Japanese in the tea ceremony, they were greatly valued and collected and most boxes of this kind today are found in Japan (as was this one).
The land diaper on this particular box, is of the kind used generally on 15th century carved lacquer (see Sir Harry Garner, Diaper Backgrounds on Chinese Carved Lacquer, 1966). Although somewhat confusingly, there is a land diaper in what would assume to be water, either alluding to the fact that this is merely a pond (on land) or perhaps used incorrectly by a provincial workshop, as could be the case in early wares before standards were solidified.
The shallow relief carving itself is worked to just above a band of yellow lacquer which can be faintly seen under magnification. This is also a feature common to 15th century lacquer and rarely seen after. (See F. Low-beer, Chinese lacquer of the early 15th century, 1950)
Size: 7.5 cm x 3 cm
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