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Lot Essay
The use of the daybed was manifold - during the day, it served as a sitting platform; at night a bed. For a general discussion on daybeds, see R. H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasties, New York, 1971, pp. 90-1.
Early features are evident in the elaborate high-waisted construction, robustly styled aprons and cabriole legs, as well as carved and sculpted decoration. Such characteristics are evident in furniture from the north-central region of China, where forms, style and decoration frequently embody the traditions carried over from the Tang, Song and Yuan periods. The Chinese characters marked with burning tools on the daybed frame may also indicate an origin from Yanjin, a county in northern Henan province north of the Yellow River where eastern Shandong, southern Hebei and Shanxi, and Western Jiangsu converge.
For similarly carved feet and aprons, see the kang table sold in these rooms, Important Chinese Furniture, Formerly the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, 19 September 1996, lot 45, which is also dated late 16th/early 17th century.
For other examples of huanghuali daybeds, see Important Chinese Furniture, Formerly the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, 19 September 1996, lots 23 and 54, both also from the late 16th/early 17th century. Compare also a similarly dated examples sold in these rooms, 21 September 2000, lot 24, and another from The Gangolf Geis Collection of Fine Classical Chinese Furniture, 28 September 2003, lot 20.
For a complete discussion of this lot, see the article in this catalogue on pp. 11-15.
Early features are evident in the elaborate high-waisted construction, robustly styled aprons and cabriole legs, as well as carved and sculpted decoration. Such characteristics are evident in furniture from the north-central region of China, where forms, style and decoration frequently embody the traditions carried over from the Tang, Song and Yuan periods. The Chinese characters marked with burning tools on the daybed frame may also indicate an origin from Yanjin, a county in northern Henan province north of the Yellow River where eastern Shandong, southern Hebei and Shanxi, and Western Jiangsu converge.
For similarly carved feet and aprons, see the kang table sold in these rooms, Important Chinese Furniture, Formerly the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, 19 September 1996, lot 45, which is also dated late 16th/early 17th century.
For other examples of huanghuali daybeds, see Important Chinese Furniture, Formerly the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, 19 September 1996, lots 23 and 54, both also from the late 16th/early 17th century. Compare also a similarly dated examples sold in these rooms, 21 September 2000, lot 24, and another from The Gangolf Geis Collection of Fine Classical Chinese Furniture, 28 September 2003, lot 20.
For a complete discussion of this lot, see the article in this catalogue on pp. 11-15.