17TH CENTURY

Due to its simple design and light weight, the daybed was a versatile piece of furniture, easily suited for both indoor and outdoor purposes. Woodblock prints dating from the Ming dynasty often show scholars or ladies relaxing on daybeds in garden settings or along riverbanks. 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. A related huanghuali daybed, of slightly larger proportions and with legs terminating in carved scroll-form feet is illustrated by R. H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasties, New York, 1971, p. 146, no. 38.