Standing at a staggering height of 3.7m, the 2.1m wide compound cabinet is possibly the largest and most magnificent piece of early Imperial Qing furniture to come to market. Constructed with panels made entirely from zitan wood, this massive cabinet features superbly carved imagery of dragons soaring through clouds, all powerfully executed in deep layers of relief, symbolising imperial presence and power. Such a tour-de-force masterpiece could only have been designed and crafted by the most skilled artisans employed by the Muzuo or Wood Workshop, one of the Palace Workshops (Zaobanchu) that operated under the command of the Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu) of the Qing court. The different components of the cabinet were separated from at least the first half of the 20th century in Europe and are finally offered together for the first time on the market since at least the 1940s.
An Exceptional and Massive Zitan 'Dragon' Compound Cabinet, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period
Hong Kong | 9 October
