A huanghuali rounded-corners cabinet, yuanjiao gui Ming dynasty, 17th century | 明 十七世紀 黃花梨圓角櫃

An old French aristocratic collection.

__________________________________________________________________________

法國貴族舊藏

One of the most ingenious and beautiful designs of classic Chinese furniture is the sloping-stile, wood-hinged cabinet. The four main stiles are recessed from the corners of the top and slope gently outward in a subtle, almost imperceptible splay. This simple design feature gives the cabinet its refined elegance and a sense of balance and stability.

The doors, with extended dowels on both ends, fit into sockets in the cabinet frame members and act as hinges. Free from the necessity of applied hinges, the clean lines of the cabinet are not interfered with. The rectangular metal plates with their lock receptacles and door pulls not only serve a practical function, but are also judiciously placed as decoration for the otherwise completely plain piece.

Cabinets of this type, with the characteristic round-corners, are known as yuanjiaogui and was widely made throughout the Ming and Qing period. For detailed information on the development of Chinese cabinets see Sarah Handler, ‘Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China’, Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Winter, 1993, pp 4-29, where the author illustrates a large yuanjiaogui from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, and notes that cabinets of this type became more common on domestic furniture from the 15^th century (see p. 13). Another similar cabinet is in the collections of the musée national des arts asiatiques, Guimet, illustrated in Cécile et Michel Beurdeley, Le Mobilier Chinois. Le Guide du Connaisseur, Fribourg, 1979, no. 128 p. 93, where it is described as a 'bookcase with three shelves and two drawers', shu gui.

Compare also a contrasting wood round-corner cabinet of related proportions, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2019, lot 706, and another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3645.

__________________________________________________________________________

圓角櫃整體造型下舒上斂，精巧優美，屬中國傳統家具設計臻例。四角直邊由上至下微微撇開，形成幾不可辨之斜面。外形簡約，精緻典雅與平衡穩固集於一身。 

櫃門上下兩端以暗榫與櫃框相連，轉動靈活，代替專門之門軸，使櫃形線條流麗，一氣呵成。長形金屬板連門鎖插銷及把手，除實際功能外，還為素雅櫃身作含蓄點綴。

此類圓角櫃，廣製於明清兩朝。關於此類櫃式的源流演變，可參閱 Sarah Handler〈Cabinets and Shelves Containing All Things in China〉，《Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society》，1993年冬，頁4-29，作者在文中列舉一藏於堪薩斯市 Nelson-Atkins 藝術博物館的大型圓角櫃，並註明此類櫃式在十五世紀家具中逐漸流行（見頁13）。 另一例現藏巴黎吉美博物館，被稱作三層雙抽屜書櫃，圖載於Cécile et Michel Beurdeley，《Le Mobilier Chinois. Le Guide du Connaisseur》，弗賴堡，1979年，編號128 ，頁93。

見一比例相近的圓角櫃，2019年3月20日售於紐約蘇富比，編號706。另一近例2017年10月3日售於香港蘇富比，編號3645。