LATE MING/EARLY QING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

Two types of clothes or storage chests are described in the classic Ming dynasty carpenter's manual Lu Ban jing; the yixiang and the yilong, although there is not much difference between the two aside from their size. For a discussion of these chests and an example in huanghuali, see Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 190-91, no. 69, where the Minneapolis example is also dated to the 17th century.

Although the stands that accompany the present pair of chests are of modern construction, Jacobsen and Grindley note that chests of this type were supported on similar frames, called sanwanchejiao to allow air to circulate beneath the chest, protecting the contents from moisture.