A rare Chinese painted lacquer circular dish, Western Han Dynasty, dated 8 BC, of circular form with shallow rounded sides rising from a flat base to a shallow well and rim with metal band, lacquered overall in brownish-black lacquer, the interior with a central medallion depicting three mythical beasts, the sides painted with scrolling clouds, below the rim on the exterior finely incised with the maker's name and dated the first year of Suihe (8 BC), 26.7cm diameter Provenance: By repute from the collection of the late Peter Maitland, former director of Malletts and then to the current owner. The people of the Han Dynasty viewed lacquer as 'an elixir of immortality' and often included lacquer ware in burial tombs. This dish possibly belongs to a number of similarly inscribed lacquer pieces made in the same period of the late Western Han Dynasty. The inscription tells us which emperor it was made for and the year of his reign (the equivalent of 8 BC), and the name of the maker. Surviving early examples from the Han Dynasty with similar inscriptions can be found at the British Museum, museum registration number 1955,1024.1 西汉 绥和元年涂工王良款彩绘神兽纹漆盘拍品来源：英国伦敦Mallets画廊前主管Peter Maitland私人收藏品相报告: restored throughout, with multiple areas of lacquer flaked off, cracked surface and uneven base, with later metal strenghening band