PROPERTY FROM A NORTH-AMERICAN CHINESE FAMILY COLLECTION, FORMED DURING THE LATE QING DYNASTY

A MASSIVE HONGMU COMPOUND CABINET AND TWO HATCHESTS, SIJIANGUI

LATE QING DYNASTY

Details

A MASSIVE HONGMU COMPOUND CABINET AND TWO HATCHESTS, SIJIANGUI
LATE QING DYNASTY
Of massive rectangular form, with two single-panel doors elaborately carved with birds amidst leafy flowering branches, fitted flush around a center stile and opening to reveal the interior with three shelves and a pair of drawers, all above a panel carved with conjoined archaistic ribbon-tied chilong and shaped aprons carved with archaistic fret on the front and sides, the two hatchests each fitted with panel doors on either side of the center stile and carved with precious objects reserved on a wan diaper ground, framed by borders of further precious objects, on one interspersed with cash emblems carved with the reign marks of the Qing emperors from Shunzhi to Xianfeng
132¾ in. (337.2 cm.) high, 53 in. (134.6 cm.) wide, 23½ in. (59.7 cm.) deep

Provenance

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owners, Whampoa, Guangdong, circa 1890-1911, thence by descent within the family.

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Lot Essay

Massive cabinets with multiple hatchests are quite rare, and would require an extremely large residence or room to be able to be properly configured, and while it is a possibility that hatchests and cabinets became associated, as elements were separated over time, examples with as many as three original hatchests are known. See the widely known massive (518.5 cm. high) imperial hualimu cabinet with three hatchests, dated to the Qing dynasty, illustrated in Ming Qing Guting Jiaju Da Guan, Beijing, 2006, pp. 664-67, where the author also discusses Imperial Palace furnishings.

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