Page 180 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art 09/13/17

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PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN
PRIVATE COLLECTION

A PAIR OF ‘HUANGHUALI’
COMPOUND CABINETS
(SIJIANGUI)
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

each cabinet of rectangular form, comprising a
smaller top cabinet resting on a larger bottom
one, the top cabinet of miter, mortise, tenon,
tongue-and-grooved ush oating-panel
construction with four square uprights, the
bottom cabinet similarly constructed with
rectangular oating panels set within a narrow
frame, the side panels on both the top and
bottom cabinets of the same miter, mortise,
tenon, tongue-and-grooved, ush, oating-panel
construction, below the doors of the main cabinet
rectangular panels above plain spandreled
aprons, the interior of the bottom cabinet with
a single shelf over two short drawers and deep
well, the baitong circular hinges surface-mounted
by four round-headed pins, the similarly surface-
mounted central circular plates with three
openings for the lock receptacles and shaped
door pulls (4)
Height 96 in., 243.8 cm; Width 36¾ in., 93.3 cm;
Depth 17¼ in., 43.8 cm

PROVENANCE

Jacques Barrère S.A., Paris, 1990.

Known as sijiangui (four-part wardrobes), these
massive two-part cabinets were generally made
and displayed in pairs. Robes and large items
would have been stored in the spacious lower
cabinets, with smaller items reserved for the top,
which being so high up often necessitated the
use of a ladder. The two sections also allowed
for a dual usage, the top piece to be placed on

oor level when required. This would explain why
there are so few surviving examples as separate
placements meant they were easily dislocated.

Another pair of similar size from the Frederic
Mueller collection is illustrated in Robert H.
Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, New York, 1970,
pl. 130. Another pair of this form is illustrated
in Robert H. Ellsworth, Nicholas Grindley and
Anita Christy, Chinese Furniture, One Hundred
Examples from the Raymond and Mimi Hung
Collection, New York, 1996, cat. no. 73. A similar
pair from the Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection is illustrated
in Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber
and Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S.Y.
Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong
Kong, 1991, cat. no. 46. A pair from the collection
of Reverend Richard Fabian sold in these rooms,
15th March 2016, lot 42.

Ⴚ$ 80,000-120,000

Jacques Barrère S A 1990

178 SOTHEBY’S