Lot 108. A zitan mirror stand, Late Ming dynasty; 40 by 47.3 by 44.8 cm., 15 1/2 by 18 5/8 by 17 5/8  in. Estimate 180,000 — 280,000 HKD. Lot Sold 475,000 HKD (54,604 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of rectangular section, the hinged mirror stand reticulated with plain rectangular and square panels, the ends of the top rail carved with a pair of confronting dragons' heads.

Exhibited: Denver Art Museum, Denver, 1997-99.
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., 1997-2001.
Grace Wu Bruce, Chan Chair and Qin Bench: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Art Museum, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1998, cat. no. 66, pp. 188-189.
The Dr. S.Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, The Macao Museum of Art, Macau, 2003, pp. 40-41.

Note: "A mirror stand carved with dragon's heads made of precious zitan. Fit for a king!"

This is a mirror stand of classic design similar to those depicted in numerous Ming paintings. This piece, fashioned in zitan, is very rare among surviving examples. The lattice panel with the top rail ornamented with heads of dragons and the back support both have extended dowels that fit into sockets in the base frame, allowing them to operate on a hinge mechanism and collapse flat into the frame when not in use. There is a removable lotus-leaf shaped support where the mirror would rest.

Emma Bunker, 'Chinese Treasures in the Denver Art Museum', Orientations, February 1993, p. 34 illustrates a similar huanghuali example in the collection of the Denver Art Museum.

Sotheby's. Ming Furniture – The Dr S Y Yip Collection, Hong Kong, 07 October 2015