17TH CENTURY

Details

A LARGE HUANGHUALI TRAVEL BOX
17TH CENTURY
The box is of square section with the two front panel doors opening to reveal the interior with three drawers. The sides are flanked by the standing spandrels. The top corners, the shaped pulls and the rectangular lockplate are all in baitong.
15 1/2 in. (39.5 cm.) high, 16 1/2 in. (42 cm.) wide, 16 1/2 in. (42 cm.) deep

Provenance

Art of Chen, Taipei, 1998.

Literature

National Museum of History, Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, p. 174.

Exhibited

Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 26 June-5 September 1999.
Crow Museum of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas, on loan from 2007-2014.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California, on loan from 2014-2019.

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, tortoiseshell and crocodile. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Further details

Please note these lots incorporate material from endangered species which could result in export restrictions. You should check the relevant customs laws and regulations before bidding on this lot if you plan to import the lot into another country. Please refer to Christie’s Conditions of Sale.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Pola Antebi (安蓓蕾) Deputy Chairman, Asia Pacific, International Director

pantebi@christies.com +852 2978 9950

Lot Essay

Travel or carrying boxes such as the present example were used as portable chests for scholars, officials or doctors. The composition of the inner drawers would vary depending on the purpose of the chest. Portable medicine chests could have small drawers for herbs and medicinals; chests with large drawers could contain books or documents.

The square shape and large size of the current example make it very rare. The handle would have been used to move the chest rather than to lift it. For transportation, the box would have been bound with two woven cords tied around each arched side of the handle and then carried by two porters with a pole slipping through the cords.

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