Lot 118. A pair of huanghuali round-corner tapered cabinets, yuanjiaogui, 17th century; 155.5 by 77 by 42.3 cm, 61 1/8  by 30 1/4  by 16 5/8  in. Estimate HKD 1,500,000 — 2,500,000. Price realised HKD 4,375,000. Courtesy Sotheby's. 

each of rectangular section and surmounted with a cabinet top with a round edge beginning and ending with a narrow flat band, supported on four recessed slightly splayed stiles at each corner forming the tapered silhouette, the front with a pair of single panel doors, each with a frame fitted with a curved metal plate adorned with a lock receptacle and door pull, a rounded-edged stretcher resting below the doors with a plain shaped apron beneath, the side aprons similarly left plain, the interior divided into three compartments.

Note: Cabinets of this form combine functionality and aesthetics through the harmonious balance of flat surfaces and round members, and the almost imperceptible outward splay of the recessed stiles. The striking swirling patterns of the huanghuali boards set into the door frame are in sharp contrast to the metal pulls and backplates, successfully drawing attention to the design. As aptly expressed by George N. Kates, cabinets of this type display the Chinese furniture markers’ "ability to handle inflexible wood in such masterly fashion that, almost unaware, one receives the impression of design in a living medium" (George N. Kates, Chinese Household Furniture, New York 1948, p. 32).