Lot 3649. A pair of finely carved zitan barrel-form stools, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 50.8 cm., 20 in. Estimate  1,500,000 — 2,500,000  HKD. Lot sold 1,875,000 HKD (241,875 USD). © Sotheby's

each of quatrefoil section, the lobed top within a thick outer edge of conforming form, set on a constricted waist swelling to an elegantly bulging body deftly carved in low relief with foliate scroll borders, each lobed sides pierced and containing oval reserves enclosing two borders carved in the form of a twisted rope and a foliate scroll respectively, the wood of a dark reddish-brown colour.

Provenance: Estate of Nelson A. Rockefeller.
Sotheby’s New York, 7th May 1981, lot 325.

Note: Expertly carved with an ornate design of scrolling leaves, this pair of zitan stools is a fine example of the aesthetic trend in Palace furnishings from the Qianlong period (1736-1795) onwards. From the mid-18th century, European Jesuits were employed at the court to redesign the Yuanming Yuan summer palace complex in Beijing. The resulting building combined a mix of Italian Rococo, French rocaille and Chinese or Mughal-inspired foliate and floral designs, which are also seen on these stools. Compare the border carved in stone at the grounds of the fountain on the Western Façade of the Palace of the Tranquil Sea, as depicted in an etching included in the exhibition From Beijing, to Versailles. Artistic Relations between China and France, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 100.

The form of this stool derives from Song dynasty (960-1279) cane stools, which were constructed by bending lengths of cane into oval shape and fastening them together. The original form evolved into a barrel shape during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and in the Qing (1644-1911) numerous variations were developed, such as the present which is of lobed form.

A closely related stool in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The 200 Objects You Should Know. Red Sandalwood Furniture, Beijing, 2008, pl. 61; and two stools of this form, but one carved with bats and the other with figures, also from the Qing court collection and still in Beijing, are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pls 81 and 82. See also a stool similarly carved in this florid style, sold in these rooms, 27th October 1992, lot 284; and another, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th November 2007, lot 1674.