Lot 8
8
A HUANGHUALI APOTHECARY CHEST, YAOXIANG

Details
A HUANGHUALI APOTHECARY CHEST, YAOXIANG
17TH CENTURY

The rectangular cabinet fronted by a pair of paneled doors, the interior fitted with twenty-eight huanghuali drawers of differing sizes and shapes, each with chrysanthemum-shaped drawer mounts, the sides set with handles, the front with a rectangular face plate and rectangular pulls, the top with corner mounts adjoining the square hinges, the base fitted at the front with a pair of ring attachments, the well-figured wood an attractive golden hue
30¾in. (78.1cm.) high, 28in. (71.1cm.) wide, 15in. (38.9cm.) deep

Lot Essay

The twenty-eight drawers are apparently a reference to the twenty-eight constellations

The rings at the base were intended to secure rope around the chest while it was being transported

See the example illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture, Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 236, 303, no. 159