An extraordinary pair of mother-of-pearl lacquered cabinets Ming Dynasty

each rectangular cabinet finely inlaid with small pieces of mother-of-pearl on the doors with a continuous scene of noblemen and ladies at leisure by mountains and lakes, the rocky landscape and fine flecks of mother-of-pearl, gold and silver dusting creating a golden ground, centered on the original hexagonal baitong white brass door double-makara pull and lock escutcheons incised with confronting dragons, above a shaped apron with a pair of mythical qilins each enclosed within a quatrefoil lobed panel, framed by pairs of confronting dragons along the sides with a single full-frontal dragon at the top flaked by dragons in profile and original hinges, the sides each with three square panels containing inlaid landscapes with scholars, Daoist immortals, ladies and noblemen, above a cusped apron and a stretcher, the feet tipped with metal fittings, the interior opening up to two shelves and two drawers trimmed with inlaid dragon roundel decoration and florals sprays, with a concealed opening behind the apron,  the interior of each door marked with a lacquered stencil double-axe head motif, the feet capped with metal fittings

Despite the loss of mother-of-pearl on one cabinet, the pair of cabinets is beautifully designed and decorated with fascinating scenes, with expected age chips and cracks, lacquer flakes and peelings around the edges of top shelves and bottom stretchers. One of cabinets has bottom board missing, middle shelf has 20cm diameter circular area surface faded; one drawer is an old replacement, the runners under drawers replacements. One cabinet has a little more loss to the mother-of-pearl on the front doors than the other cabinet.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These cabinets form a matched pair.  The bodies of the cabinets have flush surfaces all around, and the front are fitted with pairs of doors equipped with cloud design flat face-plate latches and hinges.  Below the doors are drawers, centred with inlaid qilins. They have straight aprons, and the feet are covered with metal fittings, which accounts for their being preserved intact.  The interior of the cabinets are each equipped with two drawers, the faces of each decorated with pairs of dragons of the same size. Above the drawers in each is a bearing board which together with the long and narrow exposed surfaces are inlaid with clusters of plants and flowers.  The interior of the two cabinet doors have silver ingot-shaped seal impressions, which may be metaphors for happiness and prosperity but also which may not have significant meaning either. 

The unusual feature of these cabinets is their decoration, for which the inlaid dragon decorations on the frames obviously symbolize the emperor; there are fifteen pairs of dragons.  The dragons have long narrow bodies, among which the central full-frontal dragons at the top are depicted with disheveled hair, and the ones in profile have straight manes—all styles of the late Ming. 

The front and sides are all decorated with shallow mother-of-pearl inlay, pure gold and silver flakes, and mother-of-pearl flecks.  The inlays are narrative pictures consisting of landscape features and human figures.  The inlay designs are done meticulously, and include figures wearing Ming dynasty clothes and personal adornment.  The scene depicts palace maids serving as rowers for the emperor's boat, the emperor going hunting, meeting foreigners in audience, and wearing his military uniform, among other activities.  All of which may depict imperial outings by the Ming Zhengde emperor (reigned 1506-1521)—a very well-known theme in Ming literature and drama.  The narrative theme suggested by the Handan ji (Record of Handan), by the famous late Ming dramatist Tang Xianzu (1550-1616), seems expressed exactly by the designs on this pair of cabinets.  Perhaps the Wanli emperor envied the free and easy life of the Zhengde emperor, or perhaps it was simply an expression of a popular commonplace theme.

Shell mother-of-pearl inlay is also called "multi-coloured mother-of-pearl."  It consists of the extremely thin skin of the inner layer of small shells, which is both very thin and very hard, and extremely difficult to peel off.  After peeling with tiny tweezers, it is ground into the required shapes, inlaid into the lacquer ground, then ingeniously colour matched to suit the needs of the design. Because such objects are appreciated from different angles, the inlays present an ever-changing colour scheme, which is why such work is called "multi-coloured mother-of-pearl."   Since this technique involves both an extreme degree of difficulty and much expense, it sets imperial from secular furniture.  This type of craft was most enthusiastically promoted and admired by the court and elite society during the late Ming and early Qing, but after the Middle Qing period, along with the decline in the nation's fortunes, this specialized craft practically became extinct.

Completely fulfilling all the criteria for palace furniture, this pair of large cabinets, surviving perfectly matched through the hundreds of years since the late Ming or the early Qing, is a record of a specialized palace and provides crucial supporting evidence to judging late Ming and early Qing art.

For a similar cabinet, see Herbert Cescinsky, Chinese Furniture: A Series of Examples from Collections in France. London, 1922. Plate I. & XI (fig. 1). This was one of the first pieces of Chinese furniture of this inlay type to be in a western collection. See another pair of cabinets inlaid with semi-precious stones and mother-of-pearl depicting a scene of figures in a garden pavilion, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated in Craig Clunas, 'What is Chinese Furniture? The Changing Western Image of Chinese Furniture', Orientations, March 1987, fig. 12; and another was sold in our New York rooms, 7-8th April 1988, lot 447.