Page 142 - CHRISTIE'S Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 09/14 - 15 / 17

(another view) PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTION

134 ~977

A HUANGHUALI ROUND-CORNER
TAPERED CABINET, YUANJIAOGUI
17TH CENTURY

The beautifully-proportioned cabinet is
constructed with a rounded rectangular double-
molded and beaded top, supported on elegantly
splayed legs of double-molded and beaded
square section. The large panels of the doors are
set within double-molded and beaded frames
and open to reveal the shelved interior ftted with
drawers, all above plain aprons and spandrels on
all four sides.

74√ in. (190.2 cm.) high, 36º in. (92.1 cm.) wide,
19¬ in. (49.8 cm.) deep

$200,000-300,000

PROVENANCE

Schoeni Fine Oriental Art, Hong Kong, 1990s.

The round-corner tapered cabinet, or yuanjiaogui,
is amongst the most beautiful and elegant
designs in all of classical Chinese furniture. The
very subtle splay in its design lends a sense of
stability and balance to the form while retaining a
very graceful and pleasing profle. The form was
widely used in cabinet making throughout the
Ming and Qing dynasties.

As elucidated by C. Evarts, Masterpieces from
the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, 1995,
Hong Kong, p. 130, yuanjiaogui are of two types:
those with circular members and those with
square members, which are considerably rarer.
The present cabinet falls into the latter, more
rare type, but is distinguished by the elegant and
clever use of a deep ‘thumb-mold’ surrounded
by raised beading at nearly every edge of the
cabinet, including at the edges of the doors
themselves. Such playful carving softens the hard
edges of the square members while maintaining
the overall appearance of stability and sturdiness;
compare a similarly-proportioned yuanjiaogui
from the Lu Ming Shi Collection, illustrated
by Grace Wu Bruce in Ming Furniture in the
Forbidden City, Beijing, 2006, p. 199, which uses
a slightly simpler bead-work to similar efect.

十七世紀 黃花梨圓角櫃