Lot 1001. A rare set of four imitation-bamboo huanghuali stools, 17th-18th century; 46 cm high, 50.5 cm wide, 50.5 cm deep. Price realised HKD 3,302,000 (Estimate HKD 1,500,000 – HKD 2,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Literature: Grace Wu, Ming Furniture Through My Eyes, 3rded., Beijing, 2019, pp. 160-161 (two of the current lot)
Grace Wu, Three Decades of Ming Furniture, Beijing, 2024, pp. 156-157 (two of the current lot)

Exhibited: National Museum of History, Splendor of Styles: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 26 June- 5 September 1999, cat. p. 74 (two of the current lot)

Note: This set of four matching stools embodies a refined and scholarly aesthetic, its design inspired by bamboo and cane furniture construction. Executed in the added strip duobian technique, the stretchers and legs are joined in a wrapped-leg guotui manner to form a seamless yuanbaoyuan structure—a testament to meticulous craftsmanship and a classic form within the Ming-style furniture canon. The stools feature a soft mat seat supported by reinforcing straps beneath. Both the aprons and stretchers are designed in a full, rounded profile. Each side is adorned with two pairs of slightly flattened double-ring strut, ingeniously evoking the appearance of compressed bamboo. A complete set of four matching square stools of this type is exceptionally rare.

Compare to a pair of huanghuali square stools of similar form with double-ring strut, sold at China Guardian Hong Kong, 8 October 2020, lot 191. See also a closely related single example from the collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, sold at Sotheby’s London, 8 December 2022, in the sale Hotung The Personal Collection of the late Sir Joseph Hotung Part II: Day, lot 199. Compare also to a Ming dynasty single example of similar form, now housed in Tsinghua University Art Museum, collection number: 5964.

This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

Lot 1007. A set of four huanghuali side chairs, dengguayi, 18th century; 107.5 cm high, 50.5 cm wide, 38 cm deep. Chair frame: 39 cm.long, 51.1 cm wide. Price realised HKD 2,286,000 (Estimate HKD 2,000,000 – HKD 3,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Collection of Robert Drummond, Beijing, prior to the early 1950s
Sold at Sotheby's New York, 11-12 April 1990, lot 625

Exhibited: National Museum of History, Splendor of Styles: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 26 June- 5 September 1999, cat. p. 80-81

Note: The present set of four dengguayi is distinguished by its elegant silhouette and refined construction, embodying the classic late Ming aesthetic. The smoothly curved top rail is designed without an accentuated headrest, showcasing a pure and fluid line. The S-shaped splat follows an elegant curve, its surface left plain to highlight the superb wood grain. The mat seat is set in a rectangular frame above plain aprons and spandrels, and is supported on legs of round section joined by stepped stretchers. Chairs of this type are not only prized for their precious material but also for their understated artistic beauty.

A complete set of four matching chairs is exceptionally rare. Compare to a pair of huanghuali dengguayi of similar form, sold at Poly Beijing, 24 February 2023, lot 5653. See also a closely related single example, sold at Christie's New York, 7 July 2020, lot 80.

This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

Lot 1009. A zitan and huanghuali medicine chest, 17th century; 59 cm high, 52.5 cm wide; 36.5 cm deep. Price realised HKD 698,500 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 700,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Note: This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

Lot 1010. A zitan lowback armchair, meiguiyi, 17th century; 83.5 cm high, 55.5 cm wide,45 cm deep. Chair frame: 45.3 cm long, 56 cm wide. Price realised HKD 825,500 (Estimate HKD 600,000 – HKD 800,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Exhibited: National Museum of History, Splendor of Styles: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 26 June- 5 September 1999, cat. p. 94

Lot 1011. A pair of huanghuali meditation stools, 17th -18th century; 49 cm high, 63 cm wide, 63 cm deep. Price realised HKD 762,000 (Estimate 800,000 – HKD 1,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Note: This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

Lot 1010. A huanghuali travelling square table, 18th century; 84 cm high, 95 cm wide, 95 cm deep. Price realised HKD 1,397,000 (Estimate 400,000 – HKD 600,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: C. C. Teng, Taipei

Note: This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.

Lot 1013. A huanghuali album box, 17th century; 11.5 cm high, 51.5 cm wide, 39.5 cm deep. Price realised HKD 635,000 (Estimate HKD 500,000 – HKD 700,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026

 

Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Piccus Collection
Sold at Christies New York, The Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Piccus Collection of Fine Classical Chinese Furniture, 18 September 1997, lot 14
Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Literature: Robert P. Piccus, Wood From the Scholar's Table, Chinese Hardwood Carvings and Scholar's Articles, Hong Kong, 1984, pp. 88-89
Curtis Evarts, "Classical Chinese Furniture in the Piccus Collection", JCCFS, 1992, p. 5, fig. 1

Exhibited: National Museum of History, Splendor of Styles: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 26 June- 5 September 1999, cat. p. 179

Note: Please note, these lots, contain a type of Dalbergia wood that is subject to CITES export/import restrictions. However, as each lot (or each individual item in the lot) the weight of this type of Dalbergia does not exceed 10 kg, starting from 1 May 2021, CITES license is no longer required for importing the lot (or the individual item in the lot) into Hong Kong. Before you decide to bid, please check whether your destination country permits import without CITES license. If CITES license is required, we will make the lot available for your collection in Hong Kong. We will not cancel your purchase due to any CITES restrictions impacting the import of the lot to the destination country.

Lot 1015. A ‘dreamstone’ inset huali table screen, Mid-Qing dynasty; 74 cm high, 54 cm wide. Price realised HKD 825,500 (Estimate 500,000 – HKD 700,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: C. C. Teng, Taipei

Literature: Grace Wu, Ming Furniture Through My Eyes, 3rd ed., Beijing, 2019, p. 272
Grace Wu, Three Decades of Ming Furniture, Beijing, 2024, p. 270

Lot 1016. A large lingbi scholar's rock and a hongmu stand; scholar's rock: Ming dynasty or earlier, 72.5 cm long; stand: Qing dynasty (1644-1911), 71 cm long. Price realised HKD 4,191,000 (Estimate HKD 2,000,000 – HKD 3,000,000) © Christie's Images Ltd 2026
 

Provenance: Collection from a Prominent Suzhou Family, by repute
Jiansong Ge Collection, Taipei
Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong

Exhibited:: Grace Wu Bruce, Elegant Offerings from the Scholars Studio: The Jiansong Ge Collection, Hong Kong and London, 19 - 30 October 2002 and 7 - 15 November 2002, cat. p. 60

Note: Lingbirock, also known as ‘Qing rock’ or ‘Bayin rock’, is quarried from Mount Qingshi in Anhui Province. Quarrying has a long history, with records of its use for stone chimes appearing as early as the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Appreciation of Lingbi rock as an object of scholarly taste began in the Tang dynasty and flourished in the Song, prized for its noble quality. The Ming scholar Wen Zhenheng, in his Changwuzhi, remarks: ‘Among stones, Lingbi is considered the finest, followed by Yingde. Both are highly prized and difficult to acquire.’

This extraordinary natural Lingbi rock captures a moment of dynamic energy, its form evoking a trailing cloud emerging from a mountain gorge. It assumes a precipitous and awe-inspiring appearance, resembling a majestic lion with head raised in a heaven-startling roar. The surface is defined by a network of crevices and wrinkles, covered in a sturdy, weathered patina of deep grey. When struck, it emits a resonant, clear tone—a lingering sound reminiscent of jade chimes in harmony. Scholars have long delighted in contemplating such stones, finding within this microcosm the essence of painting, poetry, and landscape. The tradition of naming one’s study after a prized stone attests that the collecting and connoisseurship of Lingbi rock represents the ultimate expression of scholarly refinement.

The historical CITES paperwork for this lot is not available and it will not be possible to obtain CITES export permits to ship it to addresses outside Hong Kong post-sale. The item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office. Please contact the department for further information.

To be continued...