A HUANGHUALI TAPERED WOOD-HINGED CABINET ON A STAND, YUANJIAOGUI

LATE 16TH/EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details

A HUANGHUALI TAPERED WOOD-HINGED CABINET ON A STAND, YUANJIAOGUI
Late 16th/early 17th century
Of elegant proportions, the rounded protruding top set on a slightly splayed, rounded corner posts enclosing the single matching panels of the pair of tall doors with double beaded edge opening from the removable central stile, to reveal two removable shelves above a plain apron and shaped spandrels, with a three part rectangular baitong lock plate and pulls, the rounded feet fitting comfortably in the rounded corners of the lipped top of the conforming stand, with corner legs continuing the splay of the corner posts of the cabinet and enclosing a row of two drawers above a low open shelf
7 7½in. (196.8cm.) high, 31in. (78.5cm.) wide, 16½in. (41.6cm.) deep

Literature

Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S Y Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, pp. 126-127, cat. 49.
Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, p. 255.

Exhibited

Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 20 September-24 November, 1991.
Phoenix Art Museum, 1996-1999.

Lot Essay

In her book, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Sarah Handler writes, "A rare example of a huanghuali cabinet on a separate stand is in the Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection. Wen Zhenheng did not like cabinets with legs unless they had a separate stand (chucian); if the stand was open like a rack (jia), he considered it especially elegant."

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