THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 
A FINE HUANGHUALI WAISTED DAYBED, TA

LATE 16TH/EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details
A FINE HUANGHUALI WAISTED DAYBED, TA
Late 16th/Early 17th Century
The well-proportioned bed with rectangular frame enclosing the hard-mat seat above a high waist and plain, straight apron supported on sturdy legs of square section terminating in hoof feet, the wood a rich golden color with striking, swirling "landscape" grain
8 5/8in. (47.5cm.) high, 77in. (197cm.) wide, 41½in. (105cm.) deep
Provenance
Herr J. Plaut
Literature
Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo, 1962, pl. 19, no. 15

Lot Essay

Daybeds with hoof feet and without stretchers are rare. A citable example is the wooden model mentioned by Wang Zhengshu in his article, "Conjectures on Models of Ming-Period Furniture from the Pan Yunzheng Tomb in Shanghai", included in the exhibition Catalogue, Beyond the Screen, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996, pp. 77-83, and illustrated by Nancy Berliner in the Catalogue, p. 150, no. 30b

For uses of the daybed as indoor and outdoor seating during the Ming dynasty, refer to Wang et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, p. 6. Compare the example illustrated by Wang et al., op.cit., p. 7, and sold in these rooms, September 19, 1996, lot 23

For paintings depicting daybeds used in the above manner, refer to the Catalogue for the Special Exhibition of Furniture in Paintings, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1996, nos. 20 and 24