Page 166 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN COLLECTION
~1152
A VERY RARE HUANGHUALI SLOPING-STILE CABINET The round-corner tapered cabinet, or yuanjiaogui, is amongst the most
17TH CENTURY 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
74w in. (190.2 cm.) high, 36.¼ in. (92.1 cm.) wide, 19¬ in. (49.8 cm.) deep
while retaining a very graceful and pleasing profile. The form was widely
used in cabinet making throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties.
$300,000-500,000
Of the two types of round-corner tapered cabinets, those with square
PROVENANCE:
members, such as the present example, are considerably rarer. The
Schoeni Fine Oriental Art, Hong Kong, 1990s.
present cabinet is further distinguished by the elegant, deep ‘thumb-mold’
Christie's New York, 14-15 September 2017, lot 977.
surrounded by raised beading at nearly every edge of the cabinet, including
at the edges of the doors themselves. Such nuanced carving softens the hard
美४顯㈥私́珍藏 edges of the square members while maintaining the overall appearance of
stability and sturdiness; compare a similarly-proportioned yuanjiaogui from
十ˑˠ紀ǎ黃花梨८角櫃
the Lu Ming Shi Collection, illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Ming Furniture
Ϝ源 in the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2006, p. 199, which uses a slightly simpler
4DIPFOJ 'JOF 0SJFOUBM "SU
香港
年代 bead-work to similar effect. A huanghuali round-corner cabinet with rounded
紐☼ωૈ得
年 月 日
拍品編號 members, and of related proportions, was sold at Rich Golden Hues and
Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture From The Tseng Collection,
Christie's Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2812.

(another view)