Page 115 - Christie's Chinese Works of Art March 24 and 25th, 2022 NYC

PROPERTY FROM A PENNSYLVANIA COLLECTION
~1007
A VERY RARE HUANGHUALI ROOT-FORM
INCENSE STAND
18TH-19TH CENTURY
Carved from a massive section of huanghuali,
the stand has a shaped top raised on a complex
network of gnarled and twisting roots.
30q in. (77.5 cm.) high, 21p in. (54 cm.) wide, 18 in.
(45.7 cm.) deep

$30,000-50,000
PROVENANCE:
Richard Gerner (1906-1966) Collection,
Philadelphia.
This impressive root-form stand is carved from a
solid section of massive huanghuali. Measuring
a staggering 30q inches in height, the present
incense stand easily dwarfs the more commonly-
seen rootwood or root-form display stands, such
as the tall rootwood display stand (11p in. high)
sold at Christie's New York, 17 March 2016, lot
1130. Inspired by a humble material, this rare
incense stand would have been commissioned by
a wealthy family, attracted to the modest origins
of rootwood furniture, but seeking the luxury and
status associated with precious huanghuali.
賓夕法尼̯州私́珍藏
清十Ջ 十̏ˠ紀ǎ黃花梨鏤⑤樹根形香֛
Ϝ源
3JDIBSE (FSOFS
珍藏
費৬

Richard Gerner (1906-1966) was a businessman
and a Pennsylvanian state politician. After World
THE PROPERTY OF A COLLECTOR War II, he was stationed in Post-War Japan with
the Department of Defense. During this time, he
~1006 made the acquaintance of Howard C. Hollis (1899-
A LARGE CARVED HUANGHUALI FLORIFORM 'CHILONG' BRUSH POT 1985), who was the curator of Far Eastern and
17TH CENTURY Near Eastern Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art
from 1929 to 1948 and served in 1946 as the chief
Raised on three short tab feet, the brush pot is carved on the exterior with four
of the Arts and Monuments Division of the Allied
floriform panels, each enclosing a chilong and ruyi, three with a floral branch and
Forces (known colloquially as the Monuments
one with bamboo.
Men) in Japan. With Hollis’ advice, Gerner began
8æ (22.3 cm.) high collecting Chinese and Japanese objects while in
Japan and brought back a notable collection when
$40,000-60,000 he and his wife Margaret returned to the States in
1948. His collection was subsequently acquired by
PROVENANCE: the Cleveland Museum of Art.
M & C Gallery, Hong Kong, 1997.
Compare a smaller huanghuali brush pot of similar form, carved as a flowering
lotus blossom and with flowering branches on the sides, originally in the
collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, and now at Yale University Art Museum,
illustrated by Mary Gardiner Neill, The Communion of Scholars: Chinese Art at
Yale, China Institute, New York, 1982, p. 133, no. 59 b. Another related floriform
‘chilong’ brush pot was sold at Christie’s New York, The Florence and Herbert
Irving Collection, 21 March 2019, lot 1213.

私人珍藏
十七世紀 黃花梨螭龍紋花口筆筒
來源:
乾坤堂, 香港, 1997年
Richard Gerner (1906-1966), photographer unknown.
(additional view) 3JDIBSE (FSOFS
，攝影師˙で
112