Page 76 - Sotheby's Part I Collection of Sir Joeseph Hotung Collection CHINESE ART , Oct. 9, 2022

196
׼ ߎ A PAIR OF MARBLE-INSET HONGMU GARDEN STOOLS,
͋ ˝ LATE MING DYNASTY
ల each of barrel-form, the round seat frame and foot accented with nail-head bosses, the bulging convex sides pierced with five

ɽ elongated quatrefoil cartouches, the top inset with a circular marble panel
h. 49 cm
ଣ
PROVENANCE Ը๕j
ͩ R.H. Ellsworth Ltd, New York, 8th March 2000. τܠჃdॲߒd2000ϋ3˜8˚
ࠦ ◉ HK$ 300,000-500,000

Ѭ US$ 38,300-64,000
ᄧ
ɓ Barrel-shaped stools, such as the present pair, were made for indoor
as well as outdoor use. They are known as zuodun in Chinese, or
࿁ xiudun ('embroidery seat') because they were often covered with
decorative brocaded cushions for added comfort.
The design of the present stools simulates a drum with a nailed
drumhead skin on the top and its origin can be traced to as early
as the Song dynasty. Compare a zitan stool of this form with five
quatrefoil cartouches but its seat is left undecorated, illustrated in
Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong,
1980, pl. A35, together with four other examples with nail-head
bosses, pls A33, A34, A36 and A37.

150 I FOR COMPLETE CATALOGUING ༉းྡ፽ʫ࢙ሗᓭᚎ SOTHEBYS.COM/HK1293 THE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF THE LATE SIR JOSEPH HOTUNG I 151