Page 164 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

890
A LARGE ZITAN SQUARE-CORNER CABINET, FANGJIAOGUI
18TH-19TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form, the cabinet has attractively fgured panels set within wide The present cabinet is constructed from zitan, a precious hardwood that
frames carved with beaded edges, the panels on the back are removable. The was highly valued during the Qing dynasty and in present day China. Known
doors are ftted fush and open to reveal the shelved interior ftted with two for its signature fne-grained texture of purplish-black tone, zitan trees are
drawers. The whole is raised on square-form legs joined by shaped, beaded slow growing and require hundreds of years to fully mature into the condition
aprons. suitable for making furniture. Although local sources of zitan exist in southern
China, much of the material was imported from Indonesia. As a valuable
70æ in. (179.7 cm.) high, 48Ω in. (123.2 cm.) wide, 21º in. (54 cm.) deep
commodity, its use was carefully monitored and recorded at the Imperial
workshops.
$40,000-60,000
A zitan cabinet of similar proportion but carved with a design of the Eight
PROVENANCE Daoist emblems (anbaxian) amidst clouds on the doors above a panel carved
Acquired in Hong Kong circa 1970s. with bats over raging waves amidst clouds is in Palace Museum, Beijing, and
James Wilde (1929-2008) Collection, New York. illustrated in Gu gong bo wu yuan cang Ming Qing gong ting jia ju da guan
清十八/十九世紀 紫檀大方角櫃 (Furniture of the Ming and Qing Palaces as Collected in the Palace Museum),
Beijing, 2006, p.304, pl. 344. Another pair of zitan cabinets of similar
proportion supporting hat chests, carved with scenes from the Gengzhi tu
(Pictures of Tilling and Weaving), dated mid to late Qing dynasty, also in the
Palace Musuem, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Ming and
Qing Furniture in the Palace Museum, vol. 15, Shelving, Cabinet, Cofer, Chest,
Beijing, 2015, p. 616 -623, no. 79.

(detail)