An Outstanding Pair of Huanghuali Tapered-Stile Cabinets 17th Century

each extremely well proportioned with book-matched single boards used on the doors and sides, framed by rounded members subtly accented with flat trim, the vertical posts further framed by simple straight aprons and plain rounded spandrels between the feet, the size of the cabinets elongated by the tapering sides narrowing slightly at the top, the interior set with one removable shelf and one fixed shelf with two drawers, the tight grain of the wood brought out by the golden patina

Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred and Three Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 16-17, no. 3.

The overall condition of the cabinets is good. There has been overall tightening to the frame and consolidation to the joints. The two-board sides have some filled repairs due to shrinkage. There is a crescent-shaped 5 cm patch to the center of one door frame and a consolidate repair to the lower section of the outer edge of the same frame. The interior elements have been restored. The mounts have been all been replaced.
"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."

Tall, sloping side two-drawer cabinets often have minor differences, such as the shape of the apron brackets, height of the legs, and presence or not of a central removable stile. Other than the form, the principal decorative feature is the large, usually book-matched wood panels set into the doors. The broad expanse of highly figured wood is in sharp contrast to the brightly polished metal pulls and backplates, making the metal plates and pulls the visual centre.

Tapered cabinets allow for greater stability and the slight difference in size of the door panels due to the taper balances the doors so they easily swing open. The hinge is a simple wooden peg inserted into a pivot join at the upper and lower ends of the corner stile. The weight of the door ensures that the lower peg remains in place. Because cabinets were used for storage, it was important to have easy access, and the doors can be quickly and easily removed to maximize the ease of placing or removing items from the interior shelves.

Huanghuali tapered cabinets come in different sizes and those often considered the most elegant are large, like these examples. Chinese cabinetmakers used huanghuali conservatively. It was a rare wood, difficult to obtain, and the extravagant use of wide planks of huanghuali were not only beautiful, but statements of wealth and taste. These large cabinets exemplify the best examples of this form.

A cabinet of this size and type in red lacquer and with taller legs from the Zou Hongshun collection, is illustrated in Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1999, p. 159. A similar cabinet in huanghuali is illustrated by Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, Dover, 1981, p. 111, pl. 90. A pair of cabinets of similar size and proportions but with a removable central stile sold in our London rooms, 6th November 2013, lot 57. A similar pair, formerly in the collection of Dr. S.Y. Yip, is illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 47. A cabinet of similar size and design but with differing brackets joining the apron to the legs in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, is illustrated in Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, fig. 15.2.