Lot 804. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. A very rare pair of inlaid huanghuali 'southern official's hat' armchairs, 16th-17th century; 126.4 cm high, 61.3 cm wide, 48.6 cm deep. Price realised USD 1,841,500 (Estimate USD 250,000 – USD 350,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Acquired in 1998.

Note: Huanghuali ‘southern official’s hat’ armchairs can be found in numerous public and private collections, but few examples have the arresting silhouette and balance of form seen in the present pair. The current pair's impressive height (126.4 cm. high) emphasizes the sleek profile and the understated elegance of the continuous lines of the legs moving through the arms and into the crest rail. The overall presentation of the chairs is further enhanced by the visually striking inlaid decoration in various hardstones, mother-of-pearl, and ebony on the back splats of the present pair. Inlaid with a continuous scene of birds resting on flowering branches, the intricate mix of materials create an almost jewel-like effect. This inlay technique is more frequently found on smaller objects, such as brush pots or dressing cases. For further discussion and illustration of small hardwood objects of different shapes and functions with ‘hundred-treasure-inlay’ technique, see C. Evarts, Liang Yi Collection. Vol. III. Small Objects, Hong Kong, 2007, p. 62 ff.

This specific design of the inlaid decoration and the remarkable similarity in dimensions, proportions, and silhouette indicate that the current chairs are the mates to the pair from the Tseng collection sold in Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2814. Another pair of huanghuali 'southern official’s hat' armchairs, with similar curve through the crest rail, and inlaid with a 'bird and flower' motif, is illustrated by C. Evarts, Liang Yi Collection. Vol I. Huanghuali, Hong Kong, 2007, pp. 60-1, no. 13. A huanghuali ‘southern official’s hat’ armchair with similarly inlaid back splat, but with a less dramatically carved crest rail, is illustrated by N. Berliner, Beyond the Screen. Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston, pp. 109-10, no. 10. A closely related pair of 'southern official’s hat' armchairs is illustrated by G. W. Bruce, The Best of the Best-The MQJ Collection of Ming Furniture, Vol. 1, Beijing, 2017, p. 250-3.

Lot 805. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. An extremely rare huanghuali waistless rectangular table, 16th-17th century; 86.4 cm high, 105.4 cm wide, 64.8 cm deep. Price realised USD 914,400 (Estimate USD 200,000 – USD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: China Art, Hong Kong, 1994.

Literature: N. Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston, 1996, pp. 134-5, no. 22.

Exhibited: Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, 18 May 1996 - 28 November 2017.

Note: The ornate and sophisticated carved elements of the present table suggest the technical abilities and spirited creativity of the Ming-dynasty carpenter when uninhibited by the restraints of standard furniture design. The present table is designed as a fixed-leg ‘demountable’ table. The table is based on a form which has detachable legs, thus allowing it to be used as both a kang table and a standard-height table. In the present table, the legs are fixed and are carved to imitate its detachable counterparts. The legs extend to ‘vase-form’ feet, an elegant and rare alternative to the standard round foot. What is most impressive is the elaborate, detailed carving on the waist, cusped aprons, and braces. The waist is carved with an undulating band, resembling the edges of a rippling lotus leaf. This wave-like band is set above the beaded, cusped apron, finely carved in high relief with phoenixes in flight facing the sun and on the narrow sides with birds alighting on flowering branches. All set above intricate and spirited dragon-form spandrels, beautifully carved and highlighting the precise hair markings of the mane and observant eye of a dragon in flight. The esteemed Chinese furniture scholar Wang Shixiang observed the resemblance of these design motifs to Wanli-period porcelain and textiles.

There are two known examples of a table with this very rare combination of three carved designs and with fixed legs terminating in ‘vase-form’ feet is in the Wang Shixiang collection, now at the Shanghai Museum, and is illustrated by Wang Shixiang in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 80, pl. B43 and a second example sold in Monochrome II; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 99. The three tables are comparable in size, suggesting they could have been made to be of a larger commissioned set and originated from the same workshop. There are other tables that feature a combination of this almost unique design, such as a huanghuali square table sold at Christie’s London, 8 November 2016, lot 195.

An important and very rare huanghuali table, banzhuo, Ming dynasty, 16th – 17th century; 104.5 by 64.4 by h. 86.7 cm. Sold for HK$13,485,000 in Monochrome II; Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 99 © Sotheby's

A rare and large huanghuali square table, Late Ming-Early Qing dynasty, 17th century; 86.4 cm high, 104 cm wide. Sold for GBP 485,000 at Christie’s London, 8 November 2016, lot 195. © Christie's Images Ltd 2016

(cf. https://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2016/11/04/34523196.html)

Lot 801. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. An important and massive huanghuali trestle-leg table, 17th century; 90.2 cm high, 315 cm wide, 44.4 cm deep. Price realised USD 2,271,000 (Estimate USD 800,000 – USD 1,200,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Eastern Pacific Company (Hei Hung Lu), Hong Kong, 1991.

Literature: N. Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston, 1996, pp. 128-9, no. 19.

Exhibited: Boston, Massachusetts, Museum of Fine Arts, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, 18 May 1996 - 28 November 2017.

Note: ShanRuoshuixuan (善若水軒), which can translated as The Pavilion of Benevolent Waters, refers to the phrase shang shan ruo shui (上善若水) from the Tao Te Ching by Laozi, and can be translated as “the highest excellence is like that of water.” In this foundational text, water is glorified as benefitting all things: “the highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water benefits all things, and in being present without striving (to the contrary).” As water flows through a landscape, the water shifts and transforms space, small improvements reshape life. The studio name reflects the refined excellence of this expansive and renowned collection and pays tribute to a lifetime of purposeful actions.

It is rare to find a single-plank qiaotou’an of this massive size and thickness of plank (5.4 cm.) that prizes quality of material and size equally. To imagine the girth and age of the tree from which this plank was hewn is staggering. Of the published examples, there are few huanghuali trestle-leg tables larger than the present table. Two huanghuali tables, both in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (53), Hong Kong, 2002, p. 146, pl. 126 and p. 160, pl. 137, are longer than the present table, measuring 402 cm. and 359 cm. in length, respectively.

Forgoing the more commonly seen ruyi-form spandrels, the present spandrels are carved in high relief with a bold taotie mask. The dramatic eyes of the mythical beast bisect the legs. Bold archaistic scrollwork frame the spandrels. The openwork panels joining the legs are dynamically carved with spirited chilong. This rare and inventive design elevates this dramatic table form. A huanghuali trestle-leg table, dating to the late 17th-early 18th century, with similar incised taotie mask carving on the spandrels is illustrated by Curtis Evarts, Liang Yi Collection, Vol I. Huanghuali, Hong Kong, 2007, pp. 102-3, no. 33.

Lot 803. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. An impressive and exceedingly rare set of four huanghuali 'official's hat' armchairs, 17th century; 121.3 cm high, 66.4 cm wide, 48.3 cm deep. Price realised USD 1,651,000 (Estimate USD 1,200,000 – USD 1,800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025

 

Provenance: Eastern Pacific Company (Hei Hung Lu), Hong Kong, 1993.

Literature: V. Weston, Portugal, Jesuits, and Japan: Spiritual Beliefs and Earthly Goods, Boston, 2013, illus. p. 139, cat. 60 (one of four illustrated).

Exhibited: One pair: Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Draped in Dragons: Chinese Court Costume, 3 December 2003 - 2 May 2004.
One of four: Boston, McMullen Museum of Art, Spiritual Beliefs and Earthly Goods: Jesuits and the Exchange Between Portugal and Japan in the Age of Exploration, 14 January-14 June 2013.

Note: The present set of four chairs displays an unparalleled grace and finesse seen only in the finest furniture dated to the Ming dynasty. Several features distinguish this magnificent set: the grand proportions, the bold, exaggerated curve of the crest rail, the exceptionally well-carved sweeping handles that cantilever beyond the front post and terminate in robustly rounded ends, and the beautifully figured S-form backsplat. The curved, matched backsplats have the same beautifully figured grain and confirm that all four splats were cut from the same section of timber. The large sections of huanghuali required to achieve the dramatic curves of the arms, crest rails, and splats would have resulted in a significant amount of wastage, and suggests the enormous financial resources of the patron who commissioned the set. The impressive height, measuring just over 47 in. or 120 cm. high, adds to this elegant, imposing form. A pair of huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchairs with rounded ends, measuring 48 in. or 122 cm. high, illustrated in R. D. Jacobsen, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 1999, pp. 50-1, no. 8., appear to be among the tallest chairs recorded. A single huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchair, of comparable date to the present set, silhouette and proportions, formerly in the Collection of Frank Finnell and Marie Hinman, was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 September 2023, lot 951.

A set of four huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchairs, formerly in the Architect Ignazio Vok Collection, published by N. Grindley et al., Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture: Vok Collection, Padua, 2004, pls. 6-9, was sold at Christie’s New York, 17-18 September 2015, lot 2030. (Fig. 1) The Vok set is the most comparable to the present set of four armchairs. Not only are the chairs similar in their monumental proportions and striking silhouette, but also in the unusual carved designs below the seat, seen in the delicate floral carving on the cusped apron and spandrels. The remarkable resemblances between the two sets suggest that this initial commission could have been for a larger set of eight or twelve chairs, and possibly from the same workshop. Large sets of chairs would have been reserved for formal use and would convey to any visitor the distinguished status of the house and family. The chairs would have instilled a sense of dignity and power on any sitter.

Fig. 1. Formerly in the Architect Ignazio Vok Collection. An important and very rare set of four huanghuali 'Four-corners-exposed official's hat' armchairs, sichutouguanmaoyi, Late 16th-early 17th century; 122 cm high, 59 cm wide, 47.4 cm deep. Sold for $4,197,000 at Christie’s New York, 17-18 September 2015, lot 2030 . © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

(cf. https://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2015/09/22/32663682.html)

To find a true set of four chairs is very rare. Fine chairs were prized for their beauty and their materials, thus complete sets are rarely preserved. It was common for sets of four, or eight chairs, to be divided into singles or pairs. Only a few prominent sets are known, most notably the exquisite set of four huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 41, which realized a record-breaking price of $9,685,000, and the set of four from Architect Ignazio Vok mentioned above. A rare set of four huanghuali side chairs, with evocative dali marble panels, was sold at Christie’s New York, 20 September 2024, lot 829.

Lot 806. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. An impressive and rare huanghuali six-post canopy bed, 17th century; 240 cm high, 224.8 cm wide, 156.2 cm deep. Price realised USD 304,800 (Estimate USD 300,000 – USD 500,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Eastern Pacific Company (Hei Hung Lu), Hong Kong, 1990.

Note': In the traditional Chinese domestic setting, the bed is among the most important pieces of furniture. Its large size meant that it would dominate the bedroom, and was probably the most expensive item to commission, due to the large amount of timber used. In contrast to the day-bed (ta) or couch-bed (luohanchuang), which were often found in a scholar’s studio or bedroom, the canopy bed was generally associated with the female setting and would have been the most important part of a woman’s dowry. Drapery was an essential component of the canopy bed. Closed curtains created a private world within, while during the day, curtains were drawn open for entertaining guests.

The massive size and exceptional carving on the present bed suggests this was an important commission for a wealthy lady. The railings are intricately carved with the stylized characters reading fu, lu, and shou (prosperity, luck and success) within roundels and are flanked by pairs of animated chilong. The tall base is raised on powerful, leonine cabriole legs, their curling, tufted toes forming the feet, the legs are joined by cusped, beaded aprons carved with chilong confronting scrolling lingzhi stems. The wealth of auspicious symbols on the present bed reflects the wish for abundance, good fortune, longevity, and wealth for the marriage and any children.

A closely related canopy bed with railings carved with chilong amidst archaistic scroll is illustrated by N. Berliner in Beyond the Screen, Boston, 2000, no. 16. Compare, also, a slightly smaller well-carved huanghuali six-post canopy bed sold at Hotung: The Personal Collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, Part II: Evening; Sotheby’s London, 7 December 2022, lot 40.

An exceptional and rare Huanghuali six-post canopy bed (Jiazichuang), Late Ming dynasty; 225.5 by 155 by 206.5 cm. Sold at Hotung: The Personal Collection of Sir Joseph Hotung, Part II: Evening; Sotheby’s London, 7 December 2022, lot 40. © Sotheby's

Lot 807. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. A very rare huanghuali corner-leg table, 17th century; 81.9 cm high, 197 cm wide, 53 cm deep. Price realised USD 3,369,000 (Estimate USD 300,000 – USD 500,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Ever Arts Classic Furniture, Hong Kong, 1993.

Note: The elegant simplicity of this table exemplifies the restrained yet sophisticated aesthetic of Ming furniture. The framed top is fitted with subtly upturned ends above a tall waist, plain apron, and ‘giant's arm’ braces, all raised on elegant legs terminating in hoof feet. The absence of humpback stretchers, in favor of a sturdier leg joint at the corner that extends beyond the top of the leg and fits directly into the base of the top frame, imparts a sense of balance and rigor found at the heart of Ming furniture design. Wang Shixiang illustrates a line drawing of this joint in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 121. no 3.32a.

Tables of this form, featuring the high waist, are frequently depicted in Ming-dynasty woodblock prints. Often seen placed against walls or beds, these tables are shown displaying antiques or rocks or holding lutes. Though frequently found in Ming-dynasty prints, there are few extant examples of this form, with or without ‘giant's arm’ braces, suggesting the more delicate design was not as durable as their counterparts with humpback stretchers. A larger huanghuali table with a similar tall waist and with legs terminating in hoof feet, and supported by ‘giant’s arm’ braces is illustrated, by N. Berliner in Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1996, p. 130, no. 20. A smaller huanghuali ‘rock’ table with similar joint, but constructed without ‘giant's arm’ braces, was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1669.

Property from the collection of John and Julia Curtis. A small huanghuali rock table, 17th century; 76.8 cm high, 78.2 cm wide, 35 cm deep. Sold for USD 927,000 at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1669. © Christie's Images Ltd 2025

Lot 808. Shanruoshui Xuan Property from an American Collection. A rare pair of huanghuali 'cabriole-leg' stools, 17th century; 54 cm high, 48 cm wide, 47.9 cm deep. Price realised USD 533,400 (Estimate USD 150,000 – USD 250,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Provenance: Acquired in 2010.

Note: Each stool is finely carved on the cusped, beaded apron with interlocking scrollwork. The stools are raised on elegant and attenuated cabriole legs terminating in delicate ruyi-form feet, joined by humpback stretchers fitted with vertical struts. Wang Shixiang illustrates three variations of the cabriole leg stool in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1990, vol. II, p. 24-6, pls. A23 and A25. The first variation, pl. A23, is the simplest in design, featuring the elegant cabriole leg joined by a humpback stretcher. The second variation, pl. A25, has legs with a more exaggerated curve and are supported by ‘giant's arm' braces, giving the stool a squatter appearance. The present pair is most similar to the third variation, pl. A24, with a more elaborately carved apron and vertical struts joining the humpback stretcher to the underside of the apron.

The use of the cabriole leg is an unusual and rare design feature infrequently seen on stools. There are few surviving examples remaining from the Ming period. This type of leg can be found on incense stands of circular form, such as the magnificent huanghuali three-legged circular incense stand sold at The Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy; Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 613. The number of variations of stools with cabriole legs suggest the vocabulary of form was fluid and judiciously applied by only the most talented of carpenters and renowned workshops, who had both the knowledge of this form and the skills to precisely carve the exacting curve required of the cabriole leg. For another stool variation in circular form, see a rare huanghuali circular stool with cabriole leg and footrail sold in Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2809.

The 'de Santos' Incense Stand. A very rare huanghuali circular incense stand, xiangji, 16th-17th century; 95.3 cm high, 45.1 cm diam. Sold for USD 5,847,500 at The Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy; Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 613. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

A very rare huanghuali circular stool, 17th century; 49 cm high, 42cm diam. Sold for HKD 3,150,000 Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2809. © Christie's Images Ltd 2022
 

A single 17th-century huanghuali stool, with slender cabriole legs and crisply beaded, cusped apron, was sold at The Flacks Family Collection: A Very Personal Selection; Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1137. See, also, a pair of cabriole leg huanghuali stools, formerly in the Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 948. A pair of Qing-dynasty huanghuali cabriole-leg stools with stiffer cabriole legs and ‘giant's arm’ braces was sold at Christie’s New York 23 March 2023, lot 1167.

A pair of huanghuali rectangular stools, Qing dynasty (1644-1911); 51.4 cm high, 57.2 cm wide, 47 cm deep. Sold for USD 119,700 at Christie’s New York 23 March 2023, lot 1167. © Christie's Images Ltd 2023

Lot 811. A very rare huanghuali flush-sided corner-leg table, 17th century; 92.1 cm high, 198.1 cm wide, 41 cm deep. Price realised USD 1,016,000 (Estimate USD 200,000 – USD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025
 

Note: No other Chinese furniture design better showcases the tenets of pure form and balanced proportions than this magnificently austere flush-corner table. In these eleven pieces of huanghuali, this table deftly combines the brilliant technical genius of Chinese joinery with a sleek design, focused on nuanced line, elegant proportions, and understated volume.

The long, solid-plank top is supported by a sophisticated network of interlocking joints that avoids the use of stretchers, braces, and/or spandrels to buttress and support the legs. The careful engineering of these simple members and unseen joints create a lightness that belies the impressive size of the table. The proportions of the aprons seamlessly continue to the legs and provide a spartan framing above which the hefty solid plank top appears to almost float. The overall effect is seamless, noble, and ethereal.

It is very rare to find a table of this waistless, flush-corner construction and without any bracing. The ingenious joints that allowed for this brilliant design were fragile, and without additional reinforcement were subject to failing, thus very few examples of this specific design have survived to the present day. An example shown in a Ming-dynasty woodblock illustration Illustrated Anecdotes about the Very Best Scholars (Zhuangyuan Tukao) suggests the frequent use of this form in everyday life.

The most similar table in form, construction, proportions and dating is illustrated by Nicholas Grindley et al., Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture: Vok Collection, Padua, 2004, pl. 26. A flush-sided corner-leg table with ‘giant’s arm’ braces and of smaller proportion was in the Gangolf Geis Collection, and most recently sold at Eternal Ming – Treasures from the MQJ Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2024, lot 1108. (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1. A very rare huanghuali plank-top table, qiaotou zhuo, Late Ming dynasty; 198.6 cm wide, 145.8 cm deep, 88.9 cm high. Sold for HKD 14,290,000 at Eternal Ming – Treasures from the MQJ Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2024, lot 1108. © Christie's Images Ltd 2024

Christie's. Important Chinese Furniture and Works of Art, New York, 19 September 2025