Page 52 - 2020 Nov 30 Christie's Hong Kong Scholars Art Of China

~2828

A HUANGHUALI LUOHAN BED, LUOHANCHUANG 晚明 黃花梨羅漢床
LATE MING DYNASTY, 17 CENTURY
羅漢牀，常見於女士廂房或文人書齋。明代小說《金瓶梅》之版畫插圖
Elegantly constructed with three large single huanghuali
shaped planks forming the back and side rails, fitted into the 可見女主角潘金蓮躺在一張與本具相仿之圍子鼓腿彭牙羅漢牀上。北方
wide rectangular frame enclosing the soft mat seat above a 人常寢於炕上，而據文獻記述，羅漢牀亦屬日常起居坐卧具。
narrow waist and plain aprons, all supported on thick inward- 本羅漢牀形制簡約，通體光素，不加雕飾，比例勻稱，應歸屬十分罕見
curving legs of square section terminating in hoof feet, the 的素面獨板羅漢床制式。素面獨板對選材要求極高，必需用上最頂級的
wood of attractive grain and figure. 上材，以最直接的方式呈現黃花梨木紋天然之美，瑰麗婉轉，化繁為
28 ¾ in. (73 cm.) high, 82 ¾ in. (210 cm.) wide, 簡。此制式亦見直腿或全方床板等不同樣式，存世著錄例約有十二張，
45 ¼ in. (115 cm.) deep 僅見於重要博物館收藏及私人收藏當中。美國堪薩斯城納爾遜艾特金斯
美術館藏一張尺寸相若，同為香蕉腿的近似例（圖一），著錄於王世襄
HK$6,000,000-8,000,000 US$780,000-1,000,000 著《明式家具珍賞》卷二，香港，1990 年，頁 82-83，圖版 C6。另見
The luohanchuang, or couch bed, was commonly found in both the 一張尺寸稍大例，藏於美國明尼阿波利斯藝術館，《Classical Chinese
private chamber of a lady and the studio of a literati gentleman. This Furniture in the MinneapolisInstitute of Arts》， 明尼阿波利斯，1990 年，
type of bed would not only have been used as an alternative bed to 頁 82-83，編號 22。
sleep on, but also as a seat to receive guests and a daybed to rest on. A
woodblock print from the Ming dynasty novel, Jin Ping Mei, shows Pan
Jinlian, the principal female character, reclining on a luohanchuang with
solid rails and inward-curving legs, similar to the present example.
This elegantly proportioned luohan bed belongs to a rare group of
lowback day beds with solid-plank backs and arms. The few published
extant examples are in important museum or private collections and
while their basic form is the same, there are a number of variations
which allows them to be grouped into different categories. Among all
known solid-plank back examples what is particularly striking is the
superb quality of the timber used. The simple unadorned form allows
the natural elegance of the grain to be admired without the distraction
of carving or elaborate forms.
A closely related example also with heavily pronounced inward-curving
legs of similar dimension is in the collection of Nelson-Atkins Museum
of Art, Kansas City, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of
Chinese Furniture, Vol II, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 128, pl. C6 (fig. 1); another
similar but slightly larger example is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art
collection, illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1990, pp. 82-83, no. 22 where it is noted
that couch beds retaining their original back and arms are extremely
rare with only around twelve published examples known.

This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/
import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to
addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office
unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for
further information.
本拍賣品由黃檀屬的木製造而成。從2017年1月2日起，所有由黃檀屬的木製成的物品受
CITES出入口管制。除非獲得CITES再出口許可，此拍賣品只可運送至香港境內的地址或 fig. 1 Collection of The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, F72-51
從我們的香港拍賣場提取。請與專家部門聯繫以瞭解詳情。 圖一 美國堪薩斯城納爾遜艾特金斯美術館藏品，典藏號 F72-51

50