Antique Chinese Qiangjin Lacquer Plate | Hand-Engraved Gold Peonies on Orange and Black, Hidden Artist Marks

A glowing coral-orange pool ringed in deep lacquer black, and across it a whole garden of peonies drawn in the finest gold line you will ever squint at. This is qiangjin, the centuries-old Chinese art of engraving wet lacquer and flooding the cut with gold powder, and it has been done here entirely by hand. Hold it to the light and the blooms lift off the surface; tilt it again and a faint face seems to drift up from the black, a smeared fingerprint left by the maker that the workshop never polished away. Far from a flaw, that little ghost is the signature of a human hand rather than a machine.

The lines run barely a millimetre wide, the peony crowns carry sixteen delicate stamens apiece, and tucked into one flower stem is a tiny black character mark you will need a loupe to find. Worked in the imperial qiangjin tradition and most likely dating to the early to mid twentieth century, it is the kind of quietly clever object that rewards the people who lean in close.

Styling and Collectors Inspiration

Lacquer wants contrast and a little drama, so let it have both. Stand it upright on a plate easel against a chalky plaster wall, or lay it flat on a dark console where the orange can do the talking. It sings beside other hand-worked Asian pieces: pair it with our Set of 3 Antique Chinese Carved Gilt-Wood Relief Panels with Lacquer Frames for a gilded, glowing wall group, or echo the engraved gold of our Antique Chinese Wood Carving with Gilded Motifs. For a more eclectic, collector-curated shelf, set it next to the Rare Burmese Kammavaca Gilt-Lacquered Sutra Leaves, or play one wall plate off another with our hand-painted Faience Wall Plate from Moustiers. Interior designers, this is your jewel-tone accent for a panelled study or a minimalist entry.

Details

• Hand-engraved qiangjin lacquer plate, gold powder pressed into fine incised lines
• Coral to yellowish-orange interior with a deep black, marbled exterior and rim
• Engraved peony decoration with sixteen fine stamens per crown and a hidden black character mark in a flower stem (visible with a loupe)
• A faint "ghost" face profile in the black lacquer, a smeared maker's fingerprint that appears only under raking light
• Gold-powder grains in the run-out lacquer, evidence of genuine hand-work rather than industrial production
• Origin: China, in the imperial qiangjin tradition, likely early to mid 20th century
• Measurements: top diameter approx. 24.3 cm, base diameter approx. 10.6 cm, height approx. 4.5 cm
• Item weight approx. 300 g
• Condition: honest age-appropriate wear, with fine krakelee crackle in the lacquer core, minor chipping to the black rim and some softening of the gold lines, all consistent with a genuine hand-worked piece

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