Page 268 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

LITERATURE 著錄：
R. H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred and Three Examples from the
Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, vol. 2, Hong Kong, New York, 2005, pp. 安思遠（R. H. Ellsworth），《洪氏所藏木器百圖》，卷二，紐約，2005年，頁
106-107, no. 48. 106-107，編號48。
In the traditional Chinese domestic setting, the bed is among the most 牀在中國傳統生活起居中位居所有家具之首。其體形龐大，主導寢室空間配
important pieces of furniture. Its large size meant that it would dominate the 置，又因所耗木料甚多，其價值當亦居首位。相對於常見於男士書房或臥室
bedroom, and was probably the most expensive item to commission, due to 的榻與羅漢牀，架子牀則多見於香閨秀閣。
the large amount of timber used. In contrast to the day-bed (ta) or couch-bed
(luohanchuang), which were often found in scholar’s studio or bedroom, the
canopy bed was generally associated with the female setting and would have 架子牀深受建築結構影響，更是明代《魯班經》所記載唯一仿建築規格以吉
been the most important part of a woman’s dowry when she wed. 祥數字制定尺寸之家具。據明清兩代木刻版畫所示，架子牀邊常置簾幔以
加強隱私。莎拉．韓蕙（Sarah Handler）曾談及明代架子牀一般置於寢室正
Canopy beds appear to have been closely infuenced by architectural 中，具主導地位，見《中國古典家具的光輝》（Austere Luminosity of Chinese
construction. They are the only form of furniture noted in the Ming dynasty
carpenter’s manual Lu Ban Jing to have used auspicious measurements that Classical Furniture），倫敦，2001年，頁139-58。日間簾卷，作娛賓之用，並於
were also employed for buildings. It was common practice to use drapery 牀面配置小件家具；夜間簾垂，供主人休憇及享受閨房之樂。本架子牀透雕
to create a private world within a closed curtain, and examples can be seen 吉祥圖案如靈芝及螭龍，寓意祝福主人健康長壽，富貴安逸。
in Ming and Qing woodblock prints. As noted by Sarah Handler in her
discussion of the form in Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, 楠希．白靈安（N. Berliner）著作中收錄一例，除三彎腿外，其餘部分與本牀
London, 2001, pp.139-58, canopy beds occupied a central and dominant 甚為相似，見《屏居佳器：十六至十七世紀中國家具》（Beyond the Screen:
position in the Ming dynasty household. During the daytime they would be
used, with curtains drawn, for entertaining guests, often seated around small Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries），波士頓，2000年，編號16。
items of furniture designed to be accommodated on the beds. At nighttime, 另有兩例可作參考：一例藏西安大清寺，另一例藏北京故宮博物院，見《故
the curtains would be closed and the bed would become a private world of 宮文物珍品全集－明清家具 (I) 》，香港，2002年，頁6-9，編號2。有一說認
rest and intimacy. The current example is carved with auspicious symbols 為此類架子牀幾個世代以均由來中國北部一工場專門製作，見柯惕思（Curtis
such as the lingzhi fungus and chilong, thought to bring longevity and peace Evarts）於《屏居佳器》所撰專文，頁58-59。
to the owner.
A closely related canopy bed, but with cabriole legs, was illustrated by
N. Berliner in Beyond the Screen, Boston, 2000, no. 16. Two other related
examples are known: one from the Great Mosque in Xi’an and the other
in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 53 - Furniture of the Ming and Qing
Dynasties (I), Hong Kong, 2002, pp. 6-9, no. 2. It has been suggested that
their production was from a specialized workshop in northern China over
several generations, see Curtis Evarts’ article in Beyond the Screen, Boston,
2000, pp. 58-59.

IMPORTANT CHINESE FURNITURE from the RAYMOND HUNG C O L L E C T I O N 洪建生珍藏中國古代重要家具