Lot 2944. A rare huanghuali square-corner tapered cabinet, fangjiaogui, Qing dynasty 17th-18th century; 72 3/8 in. (184 cm.) high, 41 1/8 in. (104.5 cm.) wide, 20 5/8 in. (52.5 cm.) deep. Estimate HKD 1,600,000 - HKD 2,000,000. Price realised HKD 1,875,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018.

The cabinet is of rectangular form and has rectangular single panel doors fitted with removable center stile. The wood-hinged doors with rectangular metal lockplates open to reveal the shelved interior with two drawers and a storage space. The narrow sides feature single panels with attractive grain. The legs are of rectangular section and are joined by plain aprons and spandrels at the bottom. The richly-figured huanghuali wood is of golden-amber tone.

Note: Tapered cabinets can be divided into two types, according to visual designs. Those made of circular members are called yuanjiaogui, and those of square members are called fangjiaogui. Examples of yuanjiaogui are more commonly seen, as described by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts in Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago, 1995, p. 130. The form of the current cabinet is of the relatively rare variety in the classification, because wood-hinged doors with protruding top and bottom frame is a construction typically found on yuanjiaogui rather than fangjiaogui, in which most of the case doors are hinged by metal plates. 

For a similar but smaller example, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, no. D30. See a related huanghuali square-corner cabinet of similar size, dated 17th-18th century, also with wood-hinged doors, sold at Christie’s New York, 22-23 March 2012, lot 1726; and another very similar cabinet sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2013, lot 930.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 28 November 2018