Dish Depicting a Dragon Amongst Foliage

This carved red cinnabar lacquer dish was made for imperial use, as indicated by the reign mark of the Jiajing emperor incised with gold on the underside of the base. On the front, the design consists of an animated writhing dragon on a ground of carved lotus flowers, with a lower border of waves and mountains and the delicately carved character for “long life” (shou) directly above its head.

Lacquer is a resin made from the sap of the lacquer tree (rhus verniciflua) that is heated and applied, often in hundreds of thin layers, onto a base of wood or bamboo, then carved or inlaid. The primary red colorant is the mineral cinnabar, while black comes from carbon.