A pair of huanghuali and burlwood cabinets, miantiaogui, Ming dynasty, 17th century | 明十七世紀 黃花梨嵌癭木面條櫃一對

Hon Ming Antique Furniture, Hong Kong, 1989. 

翰明家具，香港，1989年

The sloping-stile, wood-hinged cabinet stands as one of the most ingenious and exquisitely designed pieces of classical Chinese furniture. Its elegance lies in the recessed placement of the four main stiles, subtly splaying outward from the corners of the top. This simple yet refined feature imparts a sense of balance and stability to the cabinet. The doors, equipped with extended dowels on both ends, seamlessly fit into sockets on the cabinet frame, eliminating the need for external hinges. This design choice preserves the clean lines of the cabinet, allowing its aesthetic integrity to shine through. Rectangular metal plates, hosting lock receptacles and door pulls, serve a dual purpose: practical functionality and tasteful embellishment on an otherwise unadorned piece. The sloping-stile, wood-hinged cabinet stands as a testament to the mastery of Chinese cabinet makers.

Compare a pair of cupboards with a similar use of contrasting woods, burlwood door panels and structural panels of huanghuali from the Collection of Charlotte Horstmann, illustrated in Robert H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, New York, 1970, pl. 122. Another smaller example is illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Two Decades of Ming Furniture, Beijing, 2010, p. 217.

面條櫃是明式家具中最經典的櫃子，其設計精巧、線條簡練，融合力學與美學，其上窄下寬的櫃形在視覺上也具有穩定性，充滿古代工匠智慧及文人審美。此對櫃簡約無飾若明制，有閂桿和櫃膛整。呈甲字形，造型美，選料優，黃花梨框架，癭木櫃門，以傳統格角榫攢邊打槽裝板，上端伸出門軸納入櫃頂及門下橫棖的臼窩，櫃門為獨板癭木，紋理璀璨耐看，做工考究，置於書房，觀賞實用兩相宜，整器觀之，造型穩重典雅，黃花梨色澤瑩潤與癭木木紋相得益彰。

參看類似的另一對花梨嵌癭木面條櫃，為Charlotte Horstmann舊藏，著錄於安思遠《Chinese Furniture》，紐約，1970年，圖版122。另見一尺寸稍小之例，著錄於伍嘉恩，《明式家具二十年經眼錄》，北京，2010年，頁217。