New York – Bonhams kicked off Asia Week New York with its Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art sale, which more than doubled its all-in estimate and achieved US$7.8 million overall with 88% lots sold. Exceptional results were achieved for the Collection of David S. and Nayda Utterberg, which achieved US$4.26 million in total for five rare lots of 17th century huanghuali furniture.

Results from the Utterberg collection:

Lot 5. Property from the David and Nayda Utterberg Collection. A rare and magnificent huanghuali waisted corner-leg table with giant's arm braces and drawers, 17th century; 82 x 196.2 x 59.1cm. Sold for US$1,633,500 (Estimate: US$300,000-500,000). © Bonhams

The finely figured single-board floating panel top set into a mitered, mortise and tenon frame with ice-plate edge, supported on the underside by six transverse stretchers hidden tenoned into the frame, the high recessed waist tongue-and-grooved to the underside of the top, the exposed upper portion of the legs and the apron half-lapped and tenoned into the legs, two wedge-shaped pegs on each of the long sides securing the apron and the waist, four giant arm braces mortised and tenoned into the legs and the transverse stretchers on the far ends for further support, the top fitted with a row of four horizontal drawers with double white brass circular pulls and quatrefoil escutcheons, the apron with a beaded edge continuing down the legs to form hoof feet.

Lot 2. Property from the David and Nayda Utterberg Collection. A fine and rare huanghuali three-shelf bookcase with drawers, jiage, 17th century; 191.3 x 111.2 x 41.6cm. Sold for US$1,143,500 (Estimate: US$200,000-300,000). © Bonhams

Of upright rectangular form, with slender members of square section and concave surface, mitered and tenoned into three shelves with single-board, flush floating panels supported by two dovetailed transverse stretchers hidden tenoned into the long rails, the center shelf suspending three drawers with huanghuali lining fitted with rectangular white brass pulls on quatrefoil escutcheons, the lower shelf with simple shaped eared aprons.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce Co. Ltd., Hong Kong, 18 September 1991

Published: Handler, Sarah. "Outstanding Pieces in Private Rooms: Chinese Classical Furniture in New American Collections." Orientations vol. 24, no. 1, January 1993, pp. 166-73; reprinted in Chinese Furniture: Selected Articles from Orientations 1984-1999. Hong Kong: Orientations Magazine Ltd., 1999, fig. 5, p. 168. 

Bruce, Grace Wu. Images of Asia: Chinese Classical Furniture. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1995, no. 19.

Bruce, Grace Wu, Two Decades of Ming Furniture. Beijing: The Forbidden City Publishing House, 2010, p. 194.

Note: This bookcase develops from a classic form illustrated in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Chicago, 1990, Vol. II, plate D3, p. 140, featuring a set of two drawers suspended beneath the second shelf and lacking galleries at the sides and back. This bookcase was previously in the collection of Chen Mengjia 陳夢家 (1911-1966) and his wife Zhao Luorui 趙蘿蕤 (1912-1998) and is currently in the collection of the Shanghai Museum. The present bookcase could be classified as an open shelf stand but can serve both purposes. It is more common to find bookcases with two drawers under the second shelf, but the present lot features a three-drawer unit, which is wider in size. As noted by Grace Wu Bruce in Two Decades of Ming Furniture (p. 194), the present lot is one of the largest extant bookcases crafted from precious hardwood. She argued that bookcases featuring square-section members and an open design, whether or not they include galleries and drawers, typify Ming style. (ibid., p. 196) The simple and elegantly outlined drawers provide both storage and support for the middle tier, and they are ideally positioned at chest height for ease of use.

The open design embraces an aesthetic of austerity while ensuring that volumes or objects placed on the shelves are easily accessible from either side. This feature is particularly advantageous when the bookcases are arranged in rows to serve as space dividers in a studio. As depicted in the woodblock illustration of Zou Saizhen 鄒賽貞 (a. late 15th century)'s studio in Lie Nü Zhuan 列女傳 (Biographies of Exemplary Women), completed during the Wanli period (1573-1620), and the studio of Wang Shimin 王時敏 (1592-1680) as portrayed in his portrait by Gu Jianlong 顧見龍 (1606-1687) at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Traditional Chinese books, typically stored in rectangular, blue-clothed cases, are neatly stacked on the shelves with the short ends facing outward. Additionally, the four-shelf bookcase delineated in the eleventh leaf "Weilu Bogu" 圍爐博古 (Appreciating Antiques by a Brazier) of Chen Mei 陳枚 (c. 1694-1745)'s album Yue Man Qingyou 月曼清遊 (Palace Leisures) in the Palace Museum, Beijing, positioned beside a daybed, serves dual purposes; it is used for storing books and for display scholar's objects, such as an ink stone and a scroll pot.

Due to the delicate design of bookcase featuring slim frame members, few of them have survived. The present lot is undoubtedly a remarkable extant example epitomizing the eternal beauty of the Ming-style furniture. For similar examples, see Sarah Handler's illuminating article, "Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China," in Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, vol. 4, no.1, Winter 1993, Fig. 32, p. 27, for a three-shelf bookcase with an open design and two sets of triple drawers. Its slim square-section members also feature a concave surface, as seen in the present lot. This bookcase is currently in the collection of Mr. Chi-te Chen 陳啟德 from Taipei, having been acquired from Grace Wu Bruce. A slightly smaller three-shelf bookcase with three drawers, previously in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Piccus, is illustrated in Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society vol. 2, no. 4 (Autumn 1992), page 22, Fig. 27. A larger version of the same design, now in a private collection in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, is documented in Grace Wu Bruce, Two Decades of Ming Furniture, p. 197.

See also Dr. Chu-Pak Lau, Classical Chinese Huanghuali furniture from the Haven Collection (Hong Kong: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, 2016), no. 58, pp.244-245, for one designed with a gallery on the upper two shelves and stretchers below the aprons, and another crafted from tielimu, no. 57 p. 242-243. A four-shelf bookcase with ebony galleries is included in the collection of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, see Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis: the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999), no. 49, pp. 142-3. A comparable three-shelf open-design huanghuali  bookcase from The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection was sold in this room on 20 March 2023, lot 93.

Lot 4. Property from the David and Nayda Utterberg Collection. A fine and rare huanghuali tapered low cabinet, 17th century; 116.8 x 84.5 x 43.2cm. Sold for US$991,000 (Estimate: US$200,000-300,000). © Bonhams

The protruding huanghuali single-board top with warm grain and 'ice-plate' edge supported on tapered square-section corner stiles, continuing to form gently splayed legs with hoof feet, the flush-floating single-board door panels of typical mitered, mortise-and-tenon frame construction, the circular white brass hinges surface mounted, the inlaid circular white brass face plate with leaf-shaped drop handles, the single-board side panels tongue-and-grooved into the side edges of the stiles, the interior fitted with a removable shelf with two drawers of huanghuali lining.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce Co. Ltd., Hong Kong, 1990
Collection of The Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Renaissance, California
Christie's, New York, Important Chinese Furniture: Formerly The Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture Collection, 19 September 1996, lot 12.

Published: Handler, Sarah. "Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China," in Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Winter 1993, fig 21, p. 16.
Wang, Shixiang and Curtis Evarts. Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture. Chicago and San Francisco: Chinese Art Foundation, 1995, no. 62, pp. 132-133. (
Bruce, Grace Wu. "Ming Furniture--1996 and After." In Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, edited by Shing Yiu Yip et. al., Hong Kong, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998, fig. 9, p. 50.
Handler, Sarah, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2001, fig. 15.17, p. 255.
Bruce, Grace Wu. "The Market Value of the Ming Furniture (明式家具的市場價值)." In Cultural Relics World, issue 219, September 2009.

Note: This cabinet uniquely blends structural elements of two traditional Chinese cabinet styles: yuanjiaogui (round-corner cabinet) and fangjiaogui (square-corner cabinet). The main body of this cabinet adopts the structure of a square-corner cabinet, eschewing the central stile and utilizing hinges instead of pivots for door installation. Its projecting top (guimao 櫃帽) draws from the round-corner cabinet design, featuring an 'ice-plate' edge and a flush-floating top panel, rather than the traditional round edge and recessed top panel. According to Wang Shixiang in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties Vol. I, 1990, p. 86, this design modification accommodates the practical need to hold objects on top. In her 1993 article, Sarah Handler remarked similarly on the present lot, which has a beautifully polished single board of huanghuali for the top panel. A similar design can be seen in a smaller kang cabinet illustrated in ibid. Vol. II, plate D21, p. 150.

In addition, the cabinet's legs innovatively terminate in horse hoof feet, a design element not typically found in neither of the round or square-corner cabinets, with very few similar examples known. Another instance found is a small tabletop square-corner cabinet with short hoof feet, included in Grace Wu Bruce, Living with Ming--the Lu Ming Shi Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 44, pp. 159-161. Another related piece is a large square-corner cabinet with cabriole legs exhibited at the National Museum of History during June 26 - September 5, 1999, and published in the exhibition catalog Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, p. 169, later sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, The Feng Wen Tang Collection of Bamboo Carvings and Furniture, 3 June 2015, lot 2833, and is currently in the collection of the Liang Yi Museum.

In his commentary in Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Curtis Evarts projects the theory that this cabinet may have been influence by Manchurian design but carries the construction and form found in the repertory of Ming furniture. Wang Shixiang notes that the unusual combination of the splayed stiles and horsehoof feet "harmonize with the whole piece." Grace Wu includes the unusual cabinet in her discussion of a selection of rare Ming dynasty folding, portable furniture pieces in "Ming Furniture--1996 and After" (1998). The cabinet's unique design and compact size likely contribute to its portability.

Lot 1. Property from the David and Nayda Utterberg Collection. A fine huanghuali round-corner tapered cabinet, 17th century; 155.8 x 88.6 x 44.2cm. Sold for US$279,900 (Estimate: US$150,000-250,000). © Bonhams

Of elegant proportions, the splayed corner stiles enclosing recessed single-board door panels with finely figured and well-matched grain opening from the removable central stile with three-part white brass plate with triple handles above the plain, narrow apron and raised legs, the single-board panels on the sides of equally beautiful and matched grain echoing those on the doors, the interior fitted with a removable top shelf and a permanent central shelf suspending two jumu drawers with white brass rectangular pulls and quatrefoil escutcheons.

Provenance: Eskenazi Ltd., London, 9 June 1990.

Note: The essence of classical Ming-style furniture is fully expressed in the simplicity and elegance of this cabinet. The master craftsman brilliantly utilized, arranging the grain in a mirror image akin to butterfly wings for both doors, creating a perfect blend of sensuous material and design. Similarly, the grain on the side panels is meticulously echoed to enhance this effect. The high legs accentuate the lightness of the cabinet, and distance the bottom shelf from ground moisture. An early illustration of a tapered cabinet appears in the children's primer Xinbian Duixiang Siyan 新編對相四言 (Newly Compiled Illustrated Four-Word Glossary) published in 1436. Similar miniature glazed pottery models of these cabinets have been excavated from Ming dynasty tombs and depicted in Ming dynasty woodblock prints illustrating interior settings.

For related slightly smaller cabinet in a public collection, see Jacobsen, Robert D. with Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minneapolis: the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999), no. 51, pp. 148-149, a Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton (99.18) and no. 52, pp. 150-151 (Fig.2). For other similar examples, see a pair in Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, (Chicago and San Francisco: Chinese Art Foundation, 1995), no. 61, pp. 130-131; another in the catalogue of the exhibition Beyond the Screen (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1996), no. 27, pp. 144-145; and a pair illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture, p. 55. Other examples can be found in Sarah Handler's illuminating article, "Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China," in Journal of Classical Chinese Furniture Society, vol. 4, no.1, pp. 26-27; MD Flacks Ltd., Classical Chinese Furniture II, Autumn 1997, no. 3, pp. 10-11 ; the exhibition "Classical Chinese Wood Furniture," held at The San Francisco Craft and Folk Art Museum and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 13, pp. 34-35, which was formerly in the Reverend Richard Fabian Collection; Hu Desheng and Song Yongji, Chinese Classical Furniture (Shanghai: Reader's Digest, 2009), pp. 233-235.

A pair of comparable cabinets, formerly in the Taliani de Marchio Collection in Rome, illustrated in Gustave Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, pl. 90, p. 111, was offered in our London rooms, 9 November 2017, lot 86.

Lot 3. Property from the David and Nayda Utterberg Collection. A fine and rare huamu burlwood-inset huanghuali recessed-leg wine table, Jiuzhuo, 17th century; 82.3 x 95.2 x 38.7cm. Sold for US$216,400 (Estimate: US$100,000-150,000). © Bonhams

Of gracefully slender proportions, the huamu burlwood center panel set into a mitered, mortise and tenon frame over a square edge ending with a concave molded shoulder supported by three dovetailed transverse stretchers underneath, the round-section recessed legs gently splayed, with elongated unmitered bridle joints to a narrow and straight plain apron and cloud-shaped spandrels made of one piece of wood, the side stretchers with opposing scrolls at the center.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce Co. Ltd., Hong Kong, 18 September 1991.

Note: The inclusion of an inlaid top panel, along with the form of cloud-shaped spandrels and straight aprons, can be found in early Ming lacquered examples, for example, a red-lacquered side table with a marble top panel unearthed from the tomb of Zhu Tan 朱檀 (1370-1390), currently in the Shandong Provincial Museum. As depicted in Qiu Ying 仇英 (1494-1552)'s handscroll Spring Dawn in the Han Palace 漢宮春曉 and the woodblock illustration of Ye Jiefu 葉節婦 (Mr. Ye's faithful wife) in Lie Nü Zhuan 列女傳 (Biographies of Exemplary Women), completed during the Wanli period (1573-1620), wine tables were primarily used for serving tableware, and they could be positioned both indoors and outdoors. A discussion of wine tables with recessed legs and unmitered bridle joint construction is included in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties (Chicago: Art Media Resources Ltd., 1990), Vol. I, pp. 54- 55.

Compared to the standard form of wine table, the present lot distinguishes itself through subtle variations that infuse it with unique character. The entirely plain spandrels, aprons and stretchers with a gently convex surface that complements the design of the legs, imparting a sense of fullness and simplicity. The extremely narrow apron, reduced-size spandrels and single side stretcher contribute to a balanced, elevated proportion. Moreover, the unusual confronting-scroll design enhances the table's overall aesthetic appeal.

For comparable examples, see a slightly smaller one with very close design, also featuring single side stretchers and reminiscent aprons and spandrels, from the collection of Professor Walter Fuchs, in Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture in Photographs and Measured Drawings, New York, Dover Publications, Inc., 1986, no. 37, pp. 48-49. For other related examples, see a wine table with burlwood top panel and similar cloud-shaped spandrels in ibid., Vol. II, p. 77, B35, from the collection of Beijing Hardwood Furniture Factory 北京市硬木傢具廠, and a longer table with tielimu central top and everted flanges, but also featuring plain and convex members and single side stretchers in ibid., Vol. II p. 96, B82, previously in Wang Shixiang's collection. Another table with similar aprons and spandrels is illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Living with Ming--the Lu Ming Shi Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 34, pp. 132-133. In addition, a similar zitan side table is illustrated in MD Flacks, Spring exhibition 2008, Catalogue, March 2008, no.9.

A more archaistic style wine table was sold in these rooms, The Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection of Classical Chinese Furniture, 20 March 2023, lot 82.

"The Utterberg collection contained some of the finest examples of Ming Dynasty huanghuali furniture to come to the market in recent years. Each piece of the couple's collection was carefully selected from the leading dealers of the day for its superb craftsmanship, simplicity of line, and richly figured grain," commented Dessa Goddard, Bonhams SVP, Head of Asian Art US.

Asaph Hyman, Global Head, Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said: "It has been a privilege to offer the exceptional collection of classical Chinese furniture carefully formed by David S. and Nayda Utterberg. Their pursuit of perfection whether in David's professional life or in their collecting was clearly recognized by worldwide collectors. We are most grateful for Mrs. Utterberg's trust and for the opportunity to handle such remarkable objects. This tremendous success follows on from the wonderful sale of the Chinese furniture collection formed by fellow Seattle collectors Mary and Cheney Cowles. We now look forward to our forthcoming sales in London, Paris, Stockholm and Hong Kong."

Additional highlights of the sale include:

Lot 6. Property from a Washington State Collection. A fine and rare huanghuali round-corner cabinet, yuanjiaogui, 17th century; 187.3 X 93.3 X 52.2cm. Sold for US$699,000 (Estimate: US$120,000-200,000). © Bonhams

The sloping style cabinet of standard mitred, mortise-and-tenon construction with superbly carved double cushion molding housing paired incense sticks on the front of the stiles, and mitred, single incense stick double cushion molding on the top and bottom frames, side and back stile faces, central removable stile and the frames which house the finely figured doors, the central stile with surface mounted baitong plates and fish-form pulls, the lower beaded rail set over carved beaded aprons with elegant leaf-form spandrels, the interior doors mounted with a horizontal shelf housing two drawers.

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce Co. Ltd., Hong Kong, 1993.

Note: Tall, round corner cabinets with elaborate cushion and incense molding on the stiles and frames are highly prized and few are available in private hands. See a nearly identical cabinet in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, with the front apron replaced, gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton (97.25.2a-g), published Jacobsen, Robert D. with Nicholas Grindley, op. cit. no. 50, pp. 144-145. See also a closely related pair in the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City, 82.32/1, exhibited in "A Bountiful Decade: Selected Acquisitions, 1977-1987," Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, October 14 - December 6, 1987, and published in Sarah Handler, "Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China", in Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Winter, 1993, p. 11, and Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, New York, Hudson Hills Press, in Association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993, p. 343 (repro.), and in Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture. Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, Co-publication of Art Media Resources and Joint Publishing [H.K.] Co., Ltd, 1990, Vol 2, D23, p. 151 and p. 14.

For similar examples in private collections, see a slightly smaller pair formerly in the Hung collection published in Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield, Nicholas Grindley and Anita Christy, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, Privately Published, 1996, pp. 190-191, and a single cabinet from a Hong Kong private collection published in Grace Wu, The Best of the Best: The MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, Beijing, Xinhua Shudian, 1997, vol. 2, pp. 354-355, and in Grace Wu Bruce, Two Decades of Ming Furniture, Beijing, The Forbidden City Publishing House, 2010, p. 220.

Lot 16. Property from The Estate of Mark S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington DC. Two huanghuali horseshoe back chairs, with later restorations, 18th century; 99.7cm high, 58.1 x 46.6cm seat frame, 50.6cm seat height; 99.4cm high, 58.1 x 46cm seat frame, 50.6cm seat height. Sold for US$121,150 (Estimate: US$10,000-15,000). © Bonhams

Each constructed with a three-part curved toprail composed of pressure-pinned overlapping scarf joints tenoned into oval-shaped backrails run through the seat to form the back supports and enclosed above the seat with paired beaded spandrels, the plain c-curved backsplat is well figured and tenoned into the back seat frame with the out-curved armrests supported by bowed posts and front rails by beaded spandrels tongue-and-grooved into the supports and tenoned into the seat frame fitted with a soft mat seat supported by paired transverse bowed stretchers set into the double-molded seat over plain beaded aprons and stepped box stretchers.

Provenance: The Estate of Mark. S. Pratt (1928-2023), Washington D.C.

Note: This pair of horseshoe back armchairs exhibit a sophisticated, neat, and tidy design. A three-section crestrail is regarded as a finer construction because it requires larger pieces of wood than a five-section one. Rather than being s-curved, the backsplat and posts are gently bowed. The beaded spandrels are added in order to better support the crest rail. The unadorned and straight apron and flange brackets enhance the austere simplicity of the design. "The result is a chair whose aesthetic power derives from structural integrity rather than decorative detail." (Robert H. Ellsworth et al. Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, no. 16, p. 72). A similar pair of huanghuali horseshoe back armchairs, featuring the same design, was in the collection of Richard Fabian, sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2016, lot 41.