Lot Essay
Compare a luohan bed of similar proportions and design illustrated by Robert H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture, p. 143, no. 34, and now in the Astor Court, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A luohan bed with 'floating' panels and L-section 'cut-out' legs, formerly in the Alice Boney Collection, is illustrated by Ellsworth, op. cit., p. 142, no. 33, and is now in the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, Hong Kong. Another plain-paneled luohan bed with L-section 'cut-out' legs is illustrated by Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, pl. 27, no. 21
Refer, also, to Sarah Handler's article "Wood Shaped and Standing through the Winds of Time: The Evolution of Chinese Furniture", included in the Catalogue of the exhibition, Beyond the Screen, edited by Nancy Berliner, pp. 42-43, where the origin of the couch bed is discussed, and it is suggested that they evolve from Han dynasty low platforms with screens on two or three sides
For a discussion of the multifarious uses of the couch bed in the Ming period, including sleeping, meditating and entertaining friends, see Sarah Handler, "Comfort and Joy: A Couch Bed for Day and Night", JCCFS, Winter 1991, pp. 4-19
Refer, also, to Sarah Handler's article "Wood Shaped and Standing through the Winds of Time: The Evolution of Chinese Furniture", included in the Catalogue of the exhibition, Beyond the Screen, edited by Nancy Berliner, pp. 42-43, where the origin of the couch bed is discussed, and it is suggested that they evolve from Han dynasty low platforms with screens on two or three sides
For a discussion of the multifarious uses of the couch bed in the Ming period, including sleeping, meditating and entertaining friends, see Sarah Handler, "Comfort and Joy: A Couch Bed for Day and Night", JCCFS, Winter 1991, pp. 4-19