17TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI RECTANGULAR STOOLS
17TH CENTURY
Each soft mat seat is set within a rectangular frame with concave moldings, above a narrow waist. The whole is raised on similarly molded legs of square section joined by base stretchers.
20 1/8 in. (51.1 cm.) high, 16 ½ in. (41.9 cm.) wide, 17 3/8 in. (44.2 cm.) deep

Provenance

Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong.
The Marie Theresa L. Virata (1923-2015) Collection.

Literature

Grace Wu Bruce, Chinese Classic Furniture: Selections from Hong Kong & London Gallery, 2001-2002, pp. 36-37, no. 10.
Grace Wu Bruce, Two Decades of Ming Furniture. Beijing, 2010, p. 159.

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Box-form stools, such as the present example, are extremely rare. The form is distinguished by the simple elegance and refined geometry of its design. A related hongmu example with ‘giant’s arm’s’ braces was in the Charlotte Horstmann collection, illustrated in Robert Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Early Ch’ing Dynasties, New York, 1971, p. 197, pl. 107.

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