A pair of 'huanghuali' round-corner cabinets (Yuanjiaogui), Late Ming dynasty, 17th century

Peter Lai Antiques, Hong Kong, 1992.

The present pair of cabinets is exceptional for the quality of its timber, its elegant molding and graceful form. Known to connoisseurs as yuanjiaogui (round-corner cabinets), tapered cabinets of this type are testament to the extraordinary skill of Ming cabinetmakers. A mainstay feature of scholarly homes during the Ming dynasty, the yuanjiaogui was primarily used to store clothes or scholarly objects, and its interior drawers and shelves were adaptable. With a gentle tapering of its overall form, the cabinets have a sense of stability and visual elegance that is heightened by the symmetry of its bookmatched doors. Paradoxically, despite the tapering of the upright framing members, the cabinet is as wide at the top frame as it is at the feet, lending the pair a rare and remarkable sense of balance.

Pairs of yuanjiaogui are distinguished from one another by minor stylistic details or construction features such as the details of the molding or shape of the apron brackets. The present pair appears to be particularly rare in their inclusion of three exposed drawers below their grand doors. Examples of round-corner cabinets raised on separate stands containing drawers are known (see two in Karen Mazurkewich, Chinese Furniture. A Guide to Collecting Antiques, Rutland, 2006, figs 334 and 335), and it is possible the design of the present cabinets is a derivation of this type. In any case, the present design adds further functionality and balance to the overall proportions of the piece. For a related pair of cabinets with three panels in place of the lower drawers, compare those sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2020, lot 45 (Fig. 1); and a more conventional pair without drawers, sold from the collection of Marchese Taliani de Marchio at Bonhams London, 9th November 2017, lot 86.

Huanghuali tapered cabinets come in different sizes and those often considered the most elegant are large in scale, like the present examples. Given the rarity and prized quality of huanghuali, the wood was typically used only conservatively by cabinetmakers and, as such, the presence of such large bookmatched panels is a testament to the wealth and taste of its erstwhile owners.