A RARE PAIR OF 19th C CHINESE HUANGHUALI ROUND-CORNER TAPERED CABINET, YUANJIAOGUI.
With single-panel top set within the beaded, overhanging, rounded frame, above attractively figured single panels on the sides, and also set within elegantly shaped and beaded door frames, opening from the center stile to reveal the interior with two shelves, all raised on thick, beaded legs of rounded section flanking plain, shaped aprons on the front and sides. One with double drawers. All set to semi-trapezoid prominent body. The HuangHuaLi wood displays a dense hardwood and translucent shimmering surface with abstractly figured patterns appearing like ghost faces motif.
The round-corner tapered cabinet, or yuanjiaogui, is one of the most beautiful and elegant designs in all of classical Chinese furniture. The present cabinet, with its simple lines, represents one of the most popular and successful forms in Chinese furniture construction, and was widely used in cabinet making throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Dimensions: 72" H x 34-1/2" W x 15" D (Each)

LOT NOTES:

Several similar examples of this type are known. Compare the larger (47 5/16 in. high) HuangHuaLi round-corner tapered cabinet in the collection of The Minneapolis Institute of Arts illustrated by Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota, 1999, pp. 150-51, no. 52, where the authors note that "round-corner, sloping style cabinets (yuanjiaogui) were made in sizes ranging from those suitable for table tops to more imposing storage furniture over seven feet in height." Compare, also, the cabinet illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, no. D22. Another pair of HuangHuaLi tapered cabinets, although lacking center stiles, is illustrated by Robert H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 192-93, no. 75, where they are dated to the early 17th century. See, also, the larger (48 7/8 in. high) HuangHuaLi round-corner tapered cabinet, sold at Christie's, Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2015, also of shelved interior and removable center stile but which differs from the present cabinet in the shape of the front and side aprons.

Minor CRACKS on one of the left door, please refer to images 10. Over all in EXCELLENT condition. Some stress of wear. Natural wood imperfection, wood joint mark, minor scratches and dents. Normal consider ages and wears.
Please Note: EDEN Fine Antiques Galleries provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.