A ROOTWOOD INCENSE STAND QING DYNASTY, 18TH – 19TH CENTURY

of irregular rectangular form, the low stand carved of one block of wood with a flat surface resting on legs carved in imitation of roots twisting and connected through various openings, the wood patinated to a warm golden-brown colour

Rootwood furniture, whether natural or contrived, was highly favoured by the literati for its direct association with nature and frequently appears in genre paintings in various forms including stands, tables and chairs. Compare a rootwood stand, also from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection and the Mary and George Bloch collection, included in the exhibition Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 37, and sold in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 36; and two smaller boxwood examples, sold at Christie’s New York, the first, from the collection of Cola Ma, 25th March 2010, lot 887, and the second, 19th September 2007, lot 15.