Red lotus-leaf shaped dish with carving of a rabbit in the moon
By admin on 2015-01-21

Red lotus-leaf shaped dish with carving of a rabbit in the moon

Qianlong period, Qing Dynasty

Height:3.5cm       Diameter of mouth:21.4X16.5cm

Qing Court collection

The dish is lotus-leaf shaped, with wave patterns carved all over the red lacquer. Right in the center is a circle, suggesting the round moon, in which the picture of a rabbit pounding medicine is carved in gold relief on a yellow background. The picture, a jade rabbit pounding medicine under the osmanthus tree, represents the legendary story of moon palace. The bottom of the dish is painted with black lacquer, carved in gold the name of the dish, "Hai Yue Xiang Pan" (literally meaning sea moon fragrant plate), and the time "Daqing Qianlong Nian Zhi" (made during Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty), all in regular script.

The dish is an excellent work combining the craftsmanship of carved lacquer and colored lacquer with gold relief. The lacquer wares of the Qing Dynasty were often processed with multiple craftsmanships and techniques, so as to achieve unique artistic effects.