Lot 65
Large Ming-Style Huanghuali Three-Drawer Coffer Table, Liansanchu, 19th Century
Lot 65 Details
Large Ming-Style Huanghuali Three-Drawer Coffer Table, Liansanchu, 19th Century
A two-board top set into a mitered, mortise and tenoned frame with separate everted ends, over shaped spandrels carved with entangled vines and leafy fronds flanking three drawers above a double door with removable stile bordered by two outer panels, all above a short apron carved with chilongs, with baitong mounts
34.3" x 78.3" x 21.1" — 87 x 199 x 53.5 cm.
Estimate $30,000-$40,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
Purchased from Pao & Moltke Toronto in 1971.
Note:
As opposed to the smaller one-drawer and two-drawer variants, the present example is a traditional three-drawer coffer table, or liansanchu. An extended hidden compartment mid-section contributes to its larger size compared to other three-drawer tables. The rare huanghuali body is wonderfully crafted to demonstrate a handsome golden-honey colour and distinct wood grain, characteristic of this precious Chinese hardwood. Prototypical carvings of foliage and chilongs are found on the table’s two spandrels and apron, and the doors are complete with baitong mounts.
As a staple of classical Ming-style furniture, the altar coffer is characterized by its elegant shrine-like form as well as a set of drawers with a concealed compartment underneath. This genre of cabinet was favoured predominantly in Northern China, and used sometimes as a domestic altar and more often as a storage space.
Unique to other huanghuali furniture, a fair percentage of coffer tables are of mixed-wood type, composed of salvaged hardwood pieces or veneered softwood cores. Such careful use of precious hardwoods is indicative of the table’s persistent popularity towards the late Qing to Republican period, during which time, tropical hardwoods like huanghuali became less abundant when compared to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming-style altar coffer reflects an enduring appreciation for Ming antiquity as well as the craftsman’s ingenuity and skill.
The present lot is a wonderful example of a three-drawer coffer table. Not only is it rare for its impressive size, but also for its expensive huanghuali material. For a similar example of a large three-drawer coffer table, see Christie’s New York, “The Dr. Yip Collection of Important Chinese Furniture”, September 20, 2002, lot 51.
For a further discussion on the altar coffer, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol.II, Hong Kong 1990, p.169, and C. Evarts, “The Enigmatic Altar Coffer” published in the Journal of Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Autumn 1994, pp.29-44.
Notes provided by Dr. Michael L. Yuen, Toronto.
Spring 2015