Lot 147. A massive huanghuali couch-bed, Ming dynasty, 17th century; 198 x 88 x 50,5 cm, 78 by 34 5/8 by 19 7/8 in. Lot sold: 81,900 EUR (Estimate: 60,000 - 80,000 EUR). © Sotheby's

the rectangular frame enclosing a soft-mat sleeping surface surmounting a constricted waist and a shaped apron carved with a pair of chilong confronting interlocking lingzhi scrolls, the shorter sides similarly carved with a central stylised scroll, all supported on four thick square-sectioned cabriole legs terminating in scrolled feet and further carved with lingzhi sprays.

Note: Old huanghuali furniture have often been restored or converted in the past centuries to spare the precious wood. The present bed is likely to be the lower section of a larger canopy bed, now reduced in width and adapted as a couch-bed, Luohan chuang.

Sotheby's, Arts d'Asie, Paris, 16 juin 2022