Rectangular incense stand, Huanghuali wood and burl wood Late Ming (1573–1644)

The top of standard mitre, mortise, and tenon construction with a flush, tongue-and-grooved, single-board, huamu floating panel supported by two dovetailed transverse braces and an additional cross brace underneath, secured by woodpins. The tenons are exposed on the short sides of the frame. The edge moulds gently downward and inward and ends in a beaded edge. The waist and the apron, made of one piece of wood, end in a wide band with a concave surface. It is half-lapped onto, and mortised and tenoned into the legs which double-lock tenoned to the mitred frame and terminate in well-drawn hoof feet. There is a mitred frame at the base. The clay, ramie, and lacquer undercoating is almost completely intact.

Hong Kong, 1990 – 1991, Hong Kong Museum of Art, "Selected Treasures of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition"
Hong Kong, 1991, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, "The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture"
Singapore, 1997 – 1999, Asian Civilisations Museum, "The Chinese Collection"
Berlin, 2000 – 2002, Museum Für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin
Hong Kong, 2012, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, "Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections"

Min Chiu Society, Selected Treasures of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 504 – 505
Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, pp. 98 – 99
Grace Wu Bruce, Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 20 – 21

Similar example:
Grace Wu Bruce, Ming furniture in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 2006, pp. 114 – 115 illustrates an example of similar construction but with more delicate proportions in the Lu Ming Shi Collection

Incense stands, xiangji, belong to one of the rarest types in surviving examples of Ming furniture. They were made in the square, rectangular, octagonal or various lobed shapes as well as in the round. Their function was for displaying a rock sculpture, fragrant penzai miniature plant, flower vase or an incense burner as recorded by Gao Lian in Zunsheng Ba Jian, Eight Discourses on the Art of Living compiled in 1591. They were also seen being placed outdoors for worship in woodblock illustrations to Ming books.
This beautiful example, decorated only by subtle beadings, has an inset burl panel top. The burl, with a distinctive grape-seed pattern, is probably that of nanmu. The gently splayed legs end in exquisitely shaped hoof feet, which rest on floor stretchers.