View of a selection of items from the Yuansitang Collection in situ: lot 256, A Huanghuali Square Kang Table; lot 260, two chairs from a set of Four Huanghuali Straightback Official's Hat Sidechairs; lot 262, A Hetaomu Five-Legged Drumstool; and lot 280, A Huanghuali Recessed-Leg Side Table. Property from the Yuansitang Collection

A Hongmu and Huamu Stationary Tray with Drawers, Duchengpan

18TH-19TH CENTURY

Details

A Hongmu and Huamu Stationary Tray with Drawers, Duchengpan
18th-19th century
Of low rectangular form, with a raised edge around the huamu panel on top set within a rounded hongmu frame on short feet, the two shallow drawers beneath flush with the front and veneered with burlwood
2½ in. (6.5cm) high, 15in. (38cm.) wide, 11¼ in. (29cm.) deep

Provenance

Christie's New York, 18 September 1997, The Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Piccus Collection of Fine Classical Chinese Furniture, lot 79.

Lot Essay

A tray of this type would typically have sat on a scholar's desk or painting table. An interesting feature of this tray is the lack of hardware on the drawers. The absence of handles is compensated for by a hinged pivot arm mechanism inside the casing; when one of the drawers is pushed in, the arm within pushes the other drawer open.
Compare this piece with a limestone paneled tray illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth, et al, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 228-9, no. 93.

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