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Lot Essay
The round-corner tapered cabinet, or yuanjiaogui, is amongst the most beautiful and elegant designs in all of classical Chinese furniture. The very subtle splay in its design lends a sense of stability and balance to the form while retaining a very graceful and pleasing profile. The form was widely used in cabinet making throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Of the two types of round-corner tapered cabinets, those with square members, such as the present example, are considerably rarer. The present cabinet is further distinguished by the elegant, deep ‘thumb-mold’ surrounded by raised beading at nearly every edge of the cabinet, including at the edges of the doors themselves. Such nuanced carving softens the hard edges of the square members while maintaining the overall appearance of stability and sturdiness; compare a similarly-proportioned yuanjiaogui from the Lu Ming Shi Collection, illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Ming Furniture in the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2006, p. 199, which uses a slightly simpler bead-work to similar effect. A huanghuali round-corner cabinet with rounded members, and of related proportions, was sold at Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture From The Tseng Collection, Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2812.
Of the two types of round-corner tapered cabinets, those with square members, such as the present example, are considerably rarer. The present cabinet is further distinguished by the elegant, deep ‘thumb-mold’ surrounded by raised beading at nearly every edge of the cabinet, including at the edges of the doors themselves. Such nuanced carving softens the hard edges of the square members while maintaining the overall appearance of stability and sturdiness; compare a similarly-proportioned yuanjiaogui from the Lu Ming Shi Collection, illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Ming Furniture in the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2006, p. 199, which uses a slightly simpler bead-work to similar effect. A huanghuali round-corner cabinet with rounded members, and of related proportions, was sold at Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture From The Tseng Collection, Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2812.