MING DYNASTY, LATE 16TH- EARLY 17TH CENTURY

The present travelling bookcase entirely made of huanghuali is distinguished by the careful selection of material, most noticeably seen in the elegant, flaring grain of the doors, single floating panel sides and top, and the elegant proportions. The travelling case has the added refined feature of the rare, undulating carrying handle, which elegantly compliments the rigid geometry of this form. Large bookcases were likely to filled with books, scrolls, or paintings intended for use by scholars or government officials. To protect the traveling case from moisture or insects, the cabinet was raised on a fitted base and upright frame. Bookcases of this large size could not be lifted by the wooden handle alone if filled with books, and they were most likely suspended from carrying poles with strong cords that passed under the bottom of the case. Compare to one slightly smaller huanghuali travelling scholar’s bookcases (70 cm. high), illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 58. Compare also a huanghuali travelling bookcase of similar form and size , illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Chicago, 1999, no. 70（fig.1）.


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