Lot 110. A huanghuali and burlwood rectangular incense stand, Late Ming dynasty; 81.5 by 56.4 by 45.2 cm., 32 1/8  by 22 1/4  by 17 3/4  in. Estimate 3,800,000 — 5,500,000 HKD. Lot Sold 6,680,000 HKD (767,906 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the top of standard mitre, mortise, and tenon construction with a flush, tongue-and-grooved, single-board, huamu floating panel supported by two dovetailed transverse braces and an additional cross brace underneath, secured by woodpins, the tenons exposed on the short sides of the frame with the edge moulding gently downward and inward and ending in a beaded edge, all above the waist and the apron, made of one piece of wood, ending in a wide band with a concave surface, half-lapped onto and mortised and tennoned into the legs, the legs double-lock tennoned to the mitred frame and terminating in hoof feet, all supported on a mitred frame at the base.

Exhibited: Selected Treasures of Chinese Art: Min Chiu Society Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1990-91, cat. no. 261, pp. 504-505.
Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 36, pp. 98-99.
The Chinese Collections, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, 1997-99.
Museum Für Ostasiatische Kunst, Berlin, 2000-02.
Grace Wu Bruce, Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr. S. Y. Yip collections, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 20-21.

Literature: Yip Shing Yiu, 'Collecting Ming Furniture of Huang Hua-Li Wood', Arts of Asia, May-June 1991, p. 121, fig. 9.

Note: "A rare incense table with base stretchers. The latter is a common form in lacquer furniture, but very rare in hardwood Ming furniture. Exhibited many times."

Incense stands, xiangji, belong to one of the rarest types of Ming furniture. They were made of square, rectangular, octagonal or various lobed shapes as well as in the round. Their function was for displaying a rock sculpture, fragrant bonsai (miniature plant), flower vase or an incense burner, as recorded by Gao Lian in Zunsheng Ba Jian [Eight Discourses on the Art of Living], compiled in 1591. They were also seen being placed outdoors for worship in woodblock illustrations to Ming books.

This beautiful example, decorated only by subtle beadings, has an inset burl panel top. The burl, with a distinctive grape-seed pattern, is probably that of nanmu. The gently splayed legs end in exquisitely shaped hoof feet, which rest on floor stretchers.

Grace Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture in the Forbidden City, Hong Kong, 2006, pp. 114-115 illustrates an example of similar construction but with more delicate proportions in the Lu Ming Shi Collection.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – The Dr S Y Yip Collection, Hong Kong, 07 October 2015