Page 174 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED COLLECTION
1159
A VERY RARE SET OF FOUR ZITAN Yixin (1833-1898), more commonly referred to by now in a dilapidated and abandoned state, was
STOOLS his title, Prince Gong (or Prince Kung), was one eventually sold to the Order of Saint Benedict of
of the most important Chinese statesman of the the Catholic Church in 1921.
18TH CENTURY Left:
19th century. As the sixth son of the Daoguang
Prince Gong (1833-
20q in. (52.7 cm.) high, 17 in. (46.4 cm.) wide, 13º Emperor (r. 1821-1850), he was at one time Around 1983, the National Palace Museum in 1898), Gilman Paper
in. (36.2 cm.) deep considered as a possible successor to the throne, Taipei was approached by Dong Wu University Company Collection,
although his half-brother eventually inherited the in Taiwan to facilitate the sale of a collection of New York, March 8,
$150,000-250,000 title of Emperor. He negotiated with the foreign zitan furniture. The university had been gifted the 1989.
powers to conclude the Second Opium War in collection by an anonymous donor, who claimed 恭忠親王奕訢
PROVENANCE: 1860, and after the death of his brother in 1861, the furniture had come from the Gong Wang Fu, 年
Prince Gong (1833-1898) (sixth son of Emperor served as Prince-Regent to his young nephew, purchased by his family in the early 20th century
Daoguang, r. 1821-1850) Collection. the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861-1875), and for many and transported in the intervening years from Right:
The J. M. Hu (1911-1995), Zande Lou Collection. years was one of the most influential figures at Beijing, to Shanghai, Hong Kong, and finally to
Fig. 1 The present
the Qing court. Taiwan. Scholars associated with the National
EXHIBITED: zitan stools on view at
Palace Museum conducted extensive research
Taipei, National Palace Museum, 1983. the National Palace
Prince Gong continued to serve as chief diplomat prior to the sale, and based on the quality and Museum, Taipei.
and statesman throughout the reigns of the abundance of the luxury hardwood, zitan, the
本拍品於臺٫故宮博ḵ院
顯㈥珍藏
Tongzhi Emperor and his successor, the Guangxu carving technique, and the style of the furniture 中展֨
清十Ջˠ紀ǎ紫檀如意雲紋長方凳ो張成ਕ Emperor (r. 1875-1908). Upon his death in 1898, itself, determined it was highly likely the furniture
the title of Prince Gong and his sumptuous had come from the Gong Wang Fu. The collection
Ϝ源
mansion passed to his successor, Pu Wei. A year is on permanent exhibition at the National Palace The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese donor decided to keep this set of four stools and ruyi on the aprons are in the Palace Museum
恭親王
清道Բⅴ帝ⓧՍ子
after the Qing Empire was overthrown in 1911, Pu Museum in Taipei and catalogued as coming Art, 1983, vol. 3, p. 101, the present zitan stools the zitan display shelf (lot 1160). collection, and dates stools of this type to the
年在Ψ
舊藏 Wei made the painful decision to sell the family from Prince Gong’s Mansion. are photographed beneath an ornately carved early Qing period. A related example with deeper
暫得樓胡惠春
珍藏 treasures in the mansion in order to reverse the zitan corner-leg table and a pair of zitan stepped In Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Vol. II, incurving legs, carved corner spandrels, and no
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展覽 defeat of the Qing dynasty, and entrusted them to The present set of four zitan stools were part t c cabinets, both currently on view at the National l Hong Kong, 1990, p. 27, A28, Wang Shixiang base rail is illustrated by Hu Desheng in The
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Although no furniture is listed in the Yamanaka D o n g w u U n i v e r s i t y a n d w e r e e x h i b i t e d a l o n g s i d d e b below the photograph can be translated as “the graceful incurving legs terminating in a hoof foot Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, c.
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catalogue, it is likely the furniture of the house the large suite of zitan furniture at the National l M u s e u m ’ s r e c e n t a c q u i s i t i o n s f r o m t h e P r i n c e and joined by a base rail. He notes that several 2007, p. 138, fig. 125.
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Museum’s recent acquisitions from the Prince
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was sold around this time, as the mansion, Palace Museum, Taipei. In an article published in G o n g c o l l e c t i o n . ” W h e n t h e e x h i b i t i o n c l o s e d , t h e zitan stools with base stretchers and relief-carved
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Gong collection.” When the exhibition closed, the