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Lot Essay
Cabinets of this type are referred to as lianggegui, characterised by the high open shelf designed to display antiques and other precious objects, with a cupboard below for storage. These display cabinets were an essential part of the collectors and connoisseurs’ furnishing. They would have been used in a scholar’s studio, where the display of antiques and books was essential to the refined ambience. Wen Zhenheng, a 17th century scholar and arbiter of refinement, noted in his Zhang wu zhi (Treatise on Superfluous Things) that cabinets (chu) needed to be 'suitable for the display of antique bronzes, jades and curios'.
Each of the present pair of cabinets is generously proportioned and of square-corner form, the upper display shelf framed by shaped, beaded aprons above and reticulated rails with 'lotus bud' finials to the vertical posts and pierced panels of chilong below, all above the panel doors opening to reveal the shelved interior with two drawers, all above a shaped, beaded apron.
The low ornamental railings around the galleried shelf create a stage-like effect that enhances the display; the balustrade open at the front facilitates easy placement of objects; the plain panels comprising the lower section keep the interior visually inaccessible, prompting appreciation for the grain of the wood while providing an ample private storage space within.
The generous size of this pair, and the fact that they are constructed entirely from huanghuali, is a testament to the fact that they would have been quite costly and highly prized even at their time of manufacture. It is very rare that a pair of cabinets would have survived together. Compare to a pair of huanghuali display cabinets of similar height but slightly narrower (109.8 cm. wide), from the Dr. Sam and Annette Mandel Collection, Palm beach, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2018 (fig.1); a pair sold at Sotheby’s New York, 19 March 2007, lot 315; see also a pair from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 76.
This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.
Each of the present pair of cabinets is generously proportioned and of square-corner form, the upper display shelf framed by shaped, beaded aprons above and reticulated rails with 'lotus bud' finials to the vertical posts and pierced panels of chilong below, all above the panel doors opening to reveal the shelved interior with two drawers, all above a shaped, beaded apron.
The low ornamental railings around the galleried shelf create a stage-like effect that enhances the display; the balustrade open at the front facilitates easy placement of objects; the plain panels comprising the lower section keep the interior visually inaccessible, prompting appreciation for the grain of the wood while providing an ample private storage space within.
The generous size of this pair, and the fact that they are constructed entirely from huanghuali, is a testament to the fact that they would have been quite costly and highly prized even at their time of manufacture. It is very rare that a pair of cabinets would have survived together. Compare to a pair of huanghuali display cabinets of similar height but slightly narrower (109.8 cm. wide), from the Dr. Sam and Annette Mandel Collection, Palm beach, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2018 (fig.1); a pair sold at Sotheby’s New York, 19 March 2007, lot 315; see also a pair from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 76.
This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.