Carved lacquer dish with birds and flowers. China, Ming dynasty, 15th century [2550×2500]

[Museum](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/52157). This dish is an excellent example of a small group of carved black lacquers that feature a four-bird motif. In this example, four birds fly amid a dense array of blossoming peonies. This design evolved from a “two-bird” motif that first appeared during the late thirteenth century. Demanding extraordinary carving skills, these vessels create a nearly three-dimensional visual across a basically flat surface. The even more complex design featuring four or five birds, as here, began to appear on lacquers of the fifteenth century.