Lot 269. A pair of huanghuali tapered cabinets, 18th-19th century; 72cm (28 3/8in) wide x 39cm (15 3/8in) deep x 120.4cm (47 3/8in) high. Estimate £20,000-30,000. Sold for £43,750 (€ 48,960). Photo Bonhams.
Each with a framed top panel projecting over the tapering sides supported on four long corner struts extending to form the legs joined by a curved apron, the two doors flanking the central support and all locked with brass plates set with loops, the doors opening onto a central shelf above two drawers.
Provenance: an English private collection.
Note: The gently sloping profile, plain aprons, and elegant brass plates are in classic Ming style which continued in popularity well into the 19th century. For a Ming period example from which the present lot borrows heavily in style, see Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 1999, p.158. Other examples of tapering cabinets are illustrated by K.Mazurkewich, Chinese Furniture: A Guide to Collecting Antiques, Vermont, 2006, p.130-131, figs.328-330.
Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, London, 14 May 2015