Lot 126. A pair of 'huanghuali' and 'hongmu' square-corner compound cabinets, sijiangui, Qing dynasty, 18th-19th century;266 by 126.7 by 59.8 cm, 104 3/4  by 49 7/8  by 23 1/2  in. Estimate £60,000 - £80,000. Lot sold £106,250 (€121,688). © Sotheby's.

each huanghuali-veneered cabinet of rectangular form, comprising a smaller top chest resting on a larger bottom one, the top cabinet of mitre, mortise, tenon, tongue-and-grooved flush floating-panel construction with four square uprights, the bottom cabinet similarly constructed with rectangular floating panels set within a narrow frame, the side panels on both the top and bottom cabinets of the same mitre, mortise, tenon, tongue-and-grooved, flush, floating-panel construction, all above plain spandrel aprons, the doors with baitong circular hinges, the central circular plates with three openings for the lock receptacles and shaped door pulls.

Note: Known as sijiangui (four-part wardrobes), or dingxiangligui (top cupboards and upright wardrobes), massive two-part cabinets of this type were generally made and displayed in pairs. Composed of two cabinets stacked on top of each other, the spacious lower cabinet was used to hold robes and large items, while smaller items, or objects that were not often needed, were reserved for the top, which being so high up often necessitated the use of a ladder. For a further discussion of the history and construction of this type of cabinet, see Sarah Handler,  ‘Proportion and Joinery in Four-Part Wardrobes’, Orientations, January 1991, vol. 22, no. 1, pp 52-57.