HOTUNG | 何東 The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1 | Evening
HOTUNG | 何東 The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung: Part 1 | Evening
A finely carved and reticulated huanghuali 'chilong' seal chest, 17th century | 十七世紀 黃花梨鏤雕螭龍紋官皮箱
Auction Closed
October 8, 01:37 PM GMT
Estimate
600,000 - 800,000 HKD
Lot Details
Description
A finely carved and reticulated huanghuali 'chilong' seal chest,
17th century
十七世紀 黃花梨鏤雕螭龍紋官皮箱
the hinged top cover intricately reticulated with a pair of sinuous chilong writhing among scrolling clouds carved in varying levels of relief, each dragon playfully grasping the other's bifurcated tail in addition to its own, the front doors similarly reticulated, the sides pierced with rows of stylised kui dragons, the back carved in low relief with confronting kui dragons rendered in angular scrollwork, the interior set with a large drawer with five smaller drawers below, all supported on a flanged base, the doors and edges reinforced with metal strap hinges, door pulls, lock receptacles and a ruyi-head clasp
49.2 by 35 by h. 41.2 cm
Eastern Pacific Co. (Hei Hung-Lu), Hong Kong, 31st January 1981.
東泰商行（黑洪祿），香港，1981年1月31日
Selected Treasures of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong, 1990, cat. no. 255.
《歷代文物萃珍：敏求精舍三十週年紀念展》，香港，1990年，編號255
Finely reticulated and superbly carved in relief, the present seal chest ranks among the finest examples of huanghuali chests. The dynamic scene on the top is intricately decorated with a pair of sinuous chilong, grasping both its own and its companion's bifurcated tails, thereby forming a loop as if dancing together through swirling clouds. The rotational symmetry of the composition allows the main design to be appreciated from multiple angles, either upright from the front or upside-down from the back when the top is opened. The front doors are further decorated with a pair of symmetrical chilong writhing vigorously in a dense sea of clouds beneath the sun and the moon.
For other rare relief-decorated huanghuali table-top chests, see an example attributed to the 16th to 17th century, illustrated in Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1999, pp. 182-3. A chest with only the front doors decorated in relief, depicting the Queen Mother of the West and the King of the East, was formerly in the collection of Dr S.Y. Yip, included in Grace Wu Bruce, Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, pp. 182-183, and sold in these rooms, 5th April 2017, lot 3508. Compare a 17th-century chest carved with prunus in relief but lacking openwork, from Hei Hung Lu and Robert Blumenfield collection, sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2012, lot 1310.
黃花梨為材，蓋帽平頂，四角包白銅，門框悶榫攢邊，蓋帽、蓋墻、雙門板、側板均以透雕技藝螭飾龍雲紋，背板則以浮雕夔龍紋，箱外安如意鎖頭，兩側安兩對銅活頁，箱内分三層六屜，屜門安銅活，底座光素無紋，箱整體規矩方正，雕工精細，透雕紋飾錯落有致，螭龍於雲氣中盤旋，無不生動，為黃花梨官皮箱中不可多得之例。
以透雕裝飾的黃花梨官皮箱極其少見，對比一件十六至十七世紀黃花梨浮雕官皮箱，見《風華再現：明清家具收藏展》，台北歷史博物館，1999年，頁182-3。另參考一件兩門帶有浮雕東王公西王母祝壽圖官皮箱，為葉承耀攻玉山房舊藏，著錄於伍嘉恩，《攻玉山房藏明式黃花梨家具》，香港中文大學，1998年，頁182-183，後售於香港蘇富比2017年4月5日，編號3508。再參見黑洪祿及 Robert Blumenfield 舊藏一件十七世紀浮雕梅花紋官皮箱，但無鏤空工藝，後售於紐約佳士得2012年3月22日，編號1310。