18TH-19TH CENTURY

Details

A HUANGHUALI TWO-DRAWER COFFER
18TH-19TH CENTURY
The single-panel top is set in a rectangular frame above two drawers and shaped corner spandrels. The whole is raised on gently splayed, round-section legs joined by pairs of stretchers on the sides and raised on metal sabots.
31 1⁄8 in. (79.1 cm.) high, 50 1⁄8 in. (127.3 cm.) wide, 22 in. (55.9 cm.) deep

Provenance

Christie's New York, 2 June 1994, lot 220.

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

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

Modest-sized tables with drawers, such as the present coffer, combined broad work surfaces with easy storage solutions. This elegant form is both compact and versatile, and could serve many purposes within a domestic interior. A related two-drawer huanghuali coffer, set with everted ends and with a shaped, beaded apron, is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and illustrated by C. Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1998, p. 84, no. 67. See, also, the two-drawer huanghuali coffer of similar proportions sold at Christie's New York, The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part II: Chinese Furniture, Scholar's Objects and Chinese Paintings, 18 March 2015, lot 167. Another related two-drawer huanghuali coffer, of related proportions, was sold at Christie's New York, 13 September 2019, lot 887.

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