Page 74 - Christies March 16, 2017 The Varata Collection NYC

Fig. 1. A woodblock print from Xi Xiang Ji (Tale of the Western Incense stands, both in lacquer and hardwood, are seen in a variety of forms,
Chamber), Ming Dynasty. including round, square, foliate, hexagonal and octagonal and are constructed
(圖一) 明代西廂記木版畫 with three, four or fve legs. Round lacquer incense stands appear to be the most
commonly published examples and are depicted in woodblock prints from the Ming
Fig. 2. A circular incense stand, The Shanghai Museum dynasty (fg. 1). The Palace Museum, Beijing has four examples ranging in date from
© The Shanghai Museum the Xuande period (1426-1435) to the early Qing dynasty, illustrated in The Complete
（圖二）圓方几，上海博物館 Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing
圖片版權所有：上海博物館 Dynasties, 2002, nos. 162, 165, 166, and 169.

Of the extant examples published in hardwood, there appears to be only one
other three-legged circular incense stand, formerly in the collection of Wang
Shixiang, illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture, Ming and Early
Qing Dynasties, Chicago, p. 125, no. 72, and now in the collection of the Shanghai
Museum (fg. 2). Similar to the present example, the three-legged circular incense
stand in the Shanghai Museum is carved with the same inter-locking curling tendril
to the shaped apron and exhibits similar construction of the legs which are joined
to the apron in a fush-mitre joint that is blind tenoned into the top. The stand also
has the same truncated section to the upper part of the leg and similar leaf-carved
toe. The proportions are similar; however, the ‘de Santos’ incense stand is slightly
taller, measuring 95.2 cm. high against 89.3 cm. for the example in the Shanghai
Museum.

For another example of a circular incense stand with cabriole legs, see a huanghuali
incense stand, (97 cm. high), formerly in the collection of the Museum of Classical
Chinese Furniture, sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 1995, lot 48 and now
in the Tseng Riddell Collection, Taipei. A fve-legged incense stand, measuring 61
cm. high from the collection of Gangolf Geis was sold by Christie’s New York, 18
September 2003, lot 1330. The tradition of Chinese furniture called for general
uniformity of height for most forms, therefore it is quite unusual that extant incense
forms are found in a variety of heights. This anomaly is directly addressed in the
Lu Ban Jing, Juan II:77, “When making an incense table, one should frst consider
the size of the house.” See, Klaas Ruitenbeek, Carpentry & Building in Late Imperial
China, 1996, p. 256, for a more in depth discussion of incense stand construction.

A related four-legged huanghuali incense stand, measuring 93 cm. high, in the
collection of Dr. Chu-Pak Lau was published in Classical Chinese Huanghuali
Furniture from the Haven Collection, Hong Kong, 2016, p. 284-285, no. 73 and was
exhibited at the University Museum and Art Gallery of Hong Kong.

香几，不論漆製抑或硬木製，均式樣紛呈，形狀方面有圓、方、花口、六方及八
方；几足方面，有三、四及五足。云云已出版之例子當中，以圓几最為常見,亦常
見諸於明代木版畫（圖1）。北京故宮博物院藏有四例，年代涵蓋明宣德至清初，
詳見《故宮文物珍品全集―明清家具》，2002年，編號162、165、166及169。

經載錄之硬木實例中，應只有另一座三足圓香几傳世，為王世襄舊藏，收錄於其
《明清家具珍賞》，125頁，72號 ，現藏於上海博物館(圖2)。該香几與本具形
制相仿，皆為三足，圓形，牙子浮雕卷草紋，鎪出壺門輪廓，腿部結構一致，均
以插肩榫連接几面。兩者腿部上截有相同折紋，足端雕成花葉，比例相約，惟本
几高95.2公分，比高89.3公分之上海博物館藏品稍高。

可參考中國古典家具博物館舊藏之三彎腿圓香几(高97公分)，並於紐約佳士得
拍賣，1995年9月19日，拍品48號，現為台北Tseng Riddell所藏。另可參考
一Gangolf Geis舊藏之五足香几，高61公分，於紐約佳士得售出，2003年9
月18日，拍品1330號。中國古典家具中大部分類別傾向劃一高度，因此傳世香
几高度各異的現象甚為特殊。《魯班經》曾論述此一現象：「凡佐香几，要看
人家屋大小若何。」見Klaas Ruitenbeek，《Carpentry & Building in Late
Imperial China》，1996年，256頁，當中對香几之結構有更深入討論。

最近出版之一例為劉柱柏醫生藏黃花梨四足圓香几，2016年於香港大學美術館
展出，並收錄於其著作《晏如居藏品選―明式黃花梨家具》，2016年，284-5
頁，編號73。該香几高93公分，除為四足以外，其他部分均與本拍品及上海博
物館藏之例十分相似。

72 THE MARIE THERESA L. V I R ATA C O L L E C T I O N OF ASIAN ART: A FAMILY LEGACY