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Lot Essay
It is extremely rare to find huanghuali lampstands from the Ming dynasty and the present example is probably the only surviving lampstand designed with three legs. The ball foot delicately enclosed by scrolling leaves is a typical design element from the Ming dynasty while the superbly carved details of the animal heads interlinked with etched brass mounts showcase the extremely high artistic approach and workmanship in furniture production during this period.
A pair of lampstands constructed with two uprights and a central adjustable post, previously in the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 49, and now in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, is illustrated by Robert Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Chicago, 1999, pp. 168-169, no. 59. Another pair of similarly designed lampstands, formerly in the Collection of Gustav Ecke (1896-1971) and later in the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014), was subsequently sold at Christie’s New York, 18 March 2015, lot 104
(fig. 1).
A very rare late Ming period huanghuali lampstand with a central post flanked by shaped spandrels rising from carved humped feet formerly also in the collection of Gustav Ecke and later the collections of Robert H. Ellsworth and the Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 627 (fig. 2).
Curtis Evarts:
Although many examples of iron and bronze lampstands with tripod bases have survived, tripod lampstands of wood are very rare. Nonetheless, the “candle stand” pattern (zhutai shi) described in the Ming dynasty carpenter’s manual, Lu Ban jing, is specified to be constructed with tripod legs. It also notes hanging spandrels supporting a round plate at the top and legs carved like a “curling [elephant’s] trunk with an embracing leaf” (zhuanbi daiye). All of these features were incorporated by the artisan who crafted this tripod lampstand. The “four-fanged swallowing-head” (sichi tuntou) motif carved on the shoulders of the short cabriole legs is also a furniture decoration cited elsewhere in the Lu Ban jing for short cabriole legs. Brass panels joining leg to leg are etched with the beast’s horns and flowing manes merging into the clouds. This detail is a rare example of woodcarver and brass smith working closely together to achieve an artistic result.
This lampstand is indeed a rare and unique example of the category. It was acquired by the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in 1989 from the Hong Kong dealer Grace Wu Bruce and has been in the Tseng Collection since the 1996 Christie‘s New York sale.
A pair of lampstands constructed with two uprights and a central adjustable post, previously in the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1996, lot 49, and now in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, is illustrated by Robert Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Chicago, 1999, pp. 168-169, no. 59. Another pair of similarly designed lampstands, formerly in the Collection of Gustav Ecke (1896-1971) and later in the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth (1929-2014), was subsequently sold at Christie’s New York, 18 March 2015, lot 104
(fig. 1).
A very rare late Ming period huanghuali lampstand with a central post flanked by shaped spandrels rising from carved humped feet formerly also in the collection of Gustav Ecke and later the collections of Robert H. Ellsworth and the Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection sold at Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 627 (fig. 2).
Curtis Evarts:
Although many examples of iron and bronze lampstands with tripod bases have survived, tripod lampstands of wood are very rare. Nonetheless, the “candle stand” pattern (zhutai shi) described in the Ming dynasty carpenter’s manual, Lu Ban jing, is specified to be constructed with tripod legs. It also notes hanging spandrels supporting a round plate at the top and legs carved like a “curling [elephant’s] trunk with an embracing leaf” (zhuanbi daiye). All of these features were incorporated by the artisan who crafted this tripod lampstand. The “four-fanged swallowing-head” (sichi tuntou) motif carved on the shoulders of the short cabriole legs is also a furniture decoration cited elsewhere in the Lu Ban jing for short cabriole legs. Brass panels joining leg to leg are etched with the beast’s horns and flowing manes merging into the clouds. This detail is a rare example of woodcarver and brass smith working closely together to achieve an artistic result.
This lampstand is indeed a rare and unique example of the category. It was acquired by the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in 1989 from the Hong Kong dealer Grace Wu Bruce and has been in the Tseng Collection since the 1996 Christie‘s New York sale.
