A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI ROUND-CORNER TAPERED CABINETS, YUANJIAOGUI

Details

A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI ROUND-CORNER TAPERED CABINETS, YUANJIAOGUI
17TH CENTURY

The protruding round-cornered top with rounded edge and huanghuali top panel supported on splayed corner posts enclosing four doors, the upper pair with latticework of wan characters, the lower pair with plain panels, all within beaded, rounded frame members, the arched, cusped apron with an arabesque design of cloudhead flowers, scroll-edged leaves and openwork clouds at the corners, the hinges and face plates of baitong, the 'lantern'-shaped baitong door pulls inlaid with copper and brass, the interior of the lower cabinet fitted with a single shelf, the lattice panel reduced from larger panels at the time of construction in the original workshop
57½in. (146cm.) high, 30¼in. (77cm.) wide, 18 1/8in. (46cm.) deep (2)

Literature

Sarah Handler, "Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China", JCCFS, Winter 1993, p. 17, fig. 22
Wang et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, p. 128, no. 60

Lot Essay

No other cabinets with this particular lattice design appear to exist
See Wang et al., p. 128, where it is mentioned that by the late Ming the wan design was considered more suitable for women's quarters. Therefore, these cabinets may have been intended for use in the women's apartments of a household