17TH CENTURY

Folding stools, such as the present example, were constructed as a practical alternative for seating when travelling or hunting. Light in weight and easily folded, they can be carried over the shoulder and were therefore a popular seat for rulers and dignitaries when travelling. A Ming dynasty 16th century woodblock illustration of Qiu Hua Lienu Zhaun (The Stories of Upright Woman) depicts a servant carrying a similar folding stool while accompanying a rider on horseback (fig. 1).

The present folding stool was likely made for a gentleman of significant stature by special commission as it is taller than most other known folding stools by nearly 10cm. Slightly smaller examples of this design are seen in a variety of woods, including less expensive materials such as tielimu but also other precious hard woods such as zitan. A tielimu folding stool formerly in the Lai Family Collection was sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2015, lot 931. A zitan example from the Heveningham Hall Collection, previously in the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2021, lot 2820. While rare, several similar huanghuali folding stools are known. A similar example in the Shanghai Museum, formerly in the collection of Wang Shixiang, is illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1986, pl. 31, details 1 and 2, and in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, pl. A41. Another huanghuali example is illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 76-77, no. 9. Another huanghuali folding stool of this type is illustrated by Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp.36-37, no. 1.