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Lot Essay
Box-form stools, such as the present example, are extremely rare. The form is distinguished by the simple elegance and refined geometry of its design. The legs join to the top and base frames with pyramidal joins, thus creating an uninterrupted line, which is further enhanced by the thinly beaded edges of the legs, aprons, and base stretchers.
Compare a smaller cube-form jumu stool (40.5 cm.) high, currently in the Peabody Essex Collection, illustrated by N. Berliner and S. Handler, Friends of the House: Furniture from China's Towns and Villages, Salem, 1995, pp. 44-5, pl. 4. See, also, another huanghuali example illustrated in Chan Chair and Qing Bench: The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 70-1, pl. 6. Unlike the present example, the stool in Dr. Yip's Collection is supported by curved `giant arm's' braces. Another, third, example in hongmu was in the Charlotte Horstmann Collection.
Compare a smaller cube-form jumu stool (40.5 cm.) high, currently in the Peabody Essex Collection, illustrated by N. Berliner and S. Handler, Friends of the House: Furniture from China's Towns and Villages, Salem, 1995, pp. 44-5, pl. 4. See, also, another huanghuali example illustrated in Chan Chair and Qing Bench: The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 70-1, pl. 6. Unlike the present example, the stool in Dr. Yip's Collection is supported by curved `giant arm's' braces. Another, third, example in hongmu was in the Charlotte Horstmann Collection.