CHINA, LATE MING-EARLY QING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

The compound cabinet is the most majestic piece of furniture in the Chinese cabinetmaker's repertoire. Known as sijiangui, 'four-part wardrobes,' these compound cabinets were generally made in pairs, as was the present pair. Garments and large items would have been stored in the lower cabinets, while smaller items would have been kept in the top chests, often requiring the use of a ladder due to their massive size. Fitted with shelves and oftentimes with drawers, their generous size made them ideal for storing long scrolls, bolts of fabric, garments, and books. While the present cabinets are constructed with thick members of hongmu and inset with richly textured huamu burl, the back legs and back panels are made from zhangmu, or camphor, and would have been employed to protect garments and other contents from moth and insect damage.

The present pair of cabinets is a superb example of the highly successful combination hongmu frame and huamu panels and is distinguished by its elegant and massive proportions. This use of mixed wood forms a pleasing aesthetic, with the lighter hongmu providing an attractive contrast to the darker, swirled grain of the burl. Not only are the present cabinets larger than standard compound cabinets, they are inset with very large single panels of burl. It is extremely difficult to find burl panels of this size without numerous flaws, and this would confirm that even at the time they were made, the present cabinets would have been highly valued. An almost identical set of four with huanghuali frame and huamu panels, of comparable size (102 in. high), is illustrated by G. Kates, Chinese Household Furniture, New York, 1962, fig. 1. Compare, also, a smaller (242.6 cm.) nanmu burl-inset huanghuali compound cabinet and hatchest, from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, at Christie's New York, 18 March 2009, lot 375, where it was dated to the 17th-18th century.