Lot Essay
Compare the example illustrated by Wang, et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, pp. 26-27, no. 13 and sold in these rooms, September 19, 1996, lot 27. Compare, also, the larger stool with six wumu rollers included in the exhibition, The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, and illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in the Catalogue, no. 59 and the example with two rollers illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, p. 190, no. E52
Although Chinese chairs are traditionally fitted with a footrest stretcher, a larger separate footstool was more comfortable to use and, in furniture arrangements, the placement of a single footstool often distinguished the senior member. The footstool as a mark of status may be traced to early Buddhist sculpture, in which seated deities are depicted with their feet resting on lotus pods. The beneficial use of the footstool was described by Wen Zhenheng during the late Ming period: "Moving the feet back and forth over the rollers excites the vital energies (jingqi) to bubble upward like a fountain"
Although Chinese chairs are traditionally fitted with a footrest stretcher, a larger separate footstool was more comfortable to use and, in furniture arrangements, the placement of a single footstool often distinguished the senior member. The footstool as a mark of status may be traced to early Buddhist sculpture, in which seated deities are depicted with their feet resting on lotus pods. The beneficial use of the footstool was described by Wen Zhenheng during the late Ming period: "Moving the feet back and forth over the rollers excites the vital energies (jingqi) to bubble upward like a fountain"