Masterpieces of Chinese Lacquer: From the Mike Healy Collection

Masterworks of Chinese Lacquer from the Mike Healy Collection presents an exceptional grouping of Chinese lacquerware that spans many centuries and demonstrates multiple techniques. The thirty-one pieces in this illustrated catalogue are from the private collection of Mike Healy, who has been collecting Chinese lacquer for twenty years.
The lacquers range in date from the later Han dynasty (1st-2nd century C. E.) to the late Ming dynasty (1568-1644). The earliest objects in the collection are a small red lacquer cup and a covered toiletries box of red and black lacquer. Both pieces are decorated with geometric swirls and spirals reminiscent of ancient bronze designs.
The collection is rich in the austere and refined lacquerware of the Yuan dynasty. Among the Yuan pieces included here are two striking mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes, whose elaborate narrative designs are constructed of minute pieces of shimmering shell set into opulent lacquer.

Julia M. White is curator of Asian art at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Bao Yanli is associate director of the Shanghai Museum.