Page 52 - Christies THE LAI FAMILY COLLECTION OF FINE CHINESE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART

(detail) 915
(another view) A VERY RARE HUANGHUALI SQUARE BOX-
FORM STOOL, FANGDENG
17TH CENTURY

The attractively fgured single-panel top
is set within a square frame carved at the
corners with rounded edges. The design is
repeated on the concave legs of thick section
which continue through the base stretcher of
conforming shape to form the short feet.
18Ω in. (47cm.) high, 17æ in., (45.1 cm)
square

$120,000-180,000

PROVENANCE:

Property from the Lai Family Collection.

Box-form stools, such as the present example,
are extremely rare. The form is distinguished
by the simple elegance and refned geometry
of its design. The legs join to the top and base
frames with pyramidal joins, thus creating an
uninterrupted line, which is further enhanced by
the thinly beaded edges of the legs, aprons, and
base stretchers.

Compare a smaller cube-form jumu stool
(40.5 cm.) high, currently in the Peabody Essex
Collection, illustrated by N. Berliner and S.
Handler, Friends of the House: Furniture from
China’s Towns and Villages, Salem, 1995,
pp. 44-5, pl. 4. See, also, another huanghuali
example illustrated in Chan Chair and Qing
Bench: The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic
Chinese Furniture II, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 70-1,
pl. 6. Unlike the present example, the stool
in Dr. Yip’s Collection is supported by curved
‘giant arm’s’ braces. Another, third, example
in hongmu was in the Charlotte Horstmann
Collection.

明末清初 黃花梨方櫈

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