Page 138 - Nov 29 2017 HK Important Chinese Ceramics

PROPERTY FROM THE RAYMOND HUNG COLLECTION
~ 2953
A HUANGHUALI DAYBED WITH CABRIOLE LEGS LITERATURE
QING DYNASTY, 17TH-18TH CENTURY R. Hatfield Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples
The hard mat seat is enclosed within the wide rectangular frame from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, vol. 2, New York,
carved with moulded edge and supported on a narrow waist, above 2005, pp. 100-101, no. 45
the elegant curvilinear, beaded apron. The whole is supported on The platform bed, or ta, with its simple and restrained lines, represents
thick cabriole legs and raised on small chucks. one of the most popular forms found in classical Chinese furniture
19 Œ/”” in. (50 cm.) high, 79 Ω in. (202 cm.) wide, design. The use of the daybed was manifold - during the day, it served
42 Õ/”ÿ in. (107.5 cm.) deep as a sitting platform, and at night a bed. In Austere Luminosity of
Classical Chinese Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp. 105-21, S. Handler
HK$5,000,000-7,000,000 US$650,000-900,000 discusses the origins and uses of this intriguing form.
Platform daybeds are typically constructed with straight aprons and
either curved or straight legs. Daybeds with cabriole legs, such as the
清十七 / 十八世紀 黃花梨三彎腿榻 present example, are quite rare and only a few examples have been
published. See, a rare example of a daybed with cabriole legs formerly
in the Museum of Classical Furniture Collection, sold at Christie’s
New York, Important Chinese Furniture, Formerly the Museum of
Classical Chinese Furniture, 19 September 1996, lot 54. Compare, also,
a huanghuali luohan bed with cabriole legs illustrated by G. Ecke in
Chinese Domestic Furniture, Beijing, 1944, p. 26, pl. 20. Though few
extant examples exist, Ming dynasty woodblock prints depict examples
with cusped aprons, such as one found the novel Jin Ping Mei shows an
amorous couple seated upon a daybed with cusped aprons similar to
the present example (fig. 1).

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