Chinese mother of pearl-inlaid lacquer tray
Chinese mother of pearl-inlaid lacquer tray, Likely 19th/20th c., decorated with seated Budai under pine tree and playing children, the rim inset with woven shaped panels, unmarked, approx. 14"l x 9"w
Provenance: The Collection of visual artist Lewis Stein, NYC
Notes/Literature: Artist Lewis Stein (1945-2022) was an original SOHO pioneer working and collecting from his Broome Street loft over a five decade career. Inspired by artists like Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol, he started taking common household objects, like cleavers and hammers, and painting them in bright garish colors. In the late 1960s, he met dealer Dick Bellamy, who introduced his work to the gallerists who gave him his first exposure, including David Whitney in New York, Nicholas Wilder in Los Angeles, and Rolf Ricke in Cologne. A practitioner of Zen Buddhism, Stein made his first of many trips to mainland China in 1975, where he discovered and made an aesthetic connection to traditional Chinese Arts. Over the decades Stein amassed a formidable collection of Asian artifacts and a reputation for scholarly connoisseurship.
Condition Report: Good, one corner showing lacquer loss and exposed wood, light scattered rubbing and lacquer loss and rim, dime size discoloration in lacquer upper right quadrant, eraser-size discoloration above Budai, scattered surface scratches **Condition reports are rendered as specialist opinion by the staff of the Auction House and not as statements of fact. We do not guarantee the content of written or verbal condition reports. The absence of a condition report does not imply that there are no condition issues with the lot. Please call us at (973) 377-1500 or e-mail info@milleabros.com with any questions about this lot at least 24 hours prior to auction.
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Chinese mother of pearl-inlaid lacquer tray, Likely 19th/20th c., decorated with seated Budai under pine tree and playing children, the rim inset with woven shaped panels, unmarked, approx. 14"l x 9"w
Provenance: The Collection of visual artist Lewis Stein, NYC
Notes/Literature: Artist Lewis Stein (1945-2022) was an original SOHO pioneer working and collecting from his Broome Street loft over a five decade career. Inspired by artists like Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol, he started taking common household objects, like cleavers and hammers, and painting them in bright garish colors. In the late 1960s, he met dealer Dick Bellamy, who introduced his work to the gallerists who gave him his first exposure, including David Whitney in New York, Nicholas Wilder in Los Angeles, and Rolf Ricke in Cologne. A practitioner of Zen Buddhism, Stein made his first of many trips to mainland China in 1975, where he discovered and made an aesthetic connection to traditional Chinese Arts. Over the decades Stein amassed a formidable collection of Asian artifacts and a reputation for scholarly connoisseurship.
Condition Report: Good, one corner showing lacquer loss and exposed wood, light scattered rubbing and lacquer loss and rim, dime size discoloration in lacquer upper right quadrant, eraser-size discoloration above Budai, scattered surface scratches **Condition reports are rendered as specialist opinion by the staff of the Auction House and not as statements of fact. We do not guarantee the content of written or verbal condition reports. The absence of a condition report does not imply that there are no condition issues with the lot. Please call us at (973) 377-1500 or e-mail info@milleabros.com with any questions about this lot at least 24 hours prior to auction.
