A HUANGHUALI TWO-DRAWER COFFER (LIANERCHU) QING DYNASTY

the rectangular top with everted flanges above a pair of frieze drawers outlined by beaded shaped panels, with a long inset rectangular panel below, the scrolling apron pierced and carved with a pair of confronting dragons and foliate scrolls, the top joined to the legs by elaborate openwork dragon spandrels, supported on rectangular section legs

Collection of James A. Thomas (1862-1940) and thence by descent. A successful business man in China, Thomas was made a Crystal Button Mandarin (fifth rank official) by the Empress Dowager of China in 1905.

The coffer with numerous repairs to the openwork carving along both spandrels and the front apron. There are consolidated splits to the top, side and back panels. All four legs with patched repairs, the rear legs with spliced additions.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

James Augustus Thomas was born in Lawsonville, North Carolina, in 1862. After tending to his education, he directed his focus towards commercial business.  With hard work and savvy, by 1905 he was chairman of Mustard and Company Ltd, director of the British-American Tobacco Company Ltd and the British Cigarette Company. Between 1888 and 1923 he pioneered the introduction of American cigarettes into Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, India, Japan, China and other Asian countries. Spending a significant part of his life in China, Thomas also found time to dedicate to good works. He organized the Chinese-American Bank of Commerce, founded two schools for the Chinese, and played an active role in the Chinese Red Cross. He was also Chairman of China Child Welfare Inc.; Treasurer of China Famine Relief USA Inc.; Director of the China Society of America; and an Executive Committee Member of the American Asiatic Society. He was the author of A Pioneer Tobacco Merchant in the Orient (1928) and Trailing Trade a Million Miles (1931). In recognition for his services to China he was made a Crystal Button Mandarin by the Empress Dowager of China in 1905, and was decorated with the 6th and 3rd classes Order of the Golden Harvest and with the Order of the Jade, Red Cravat with White & Blue Borders (China) in 1937. He died on the 10^th of September 1940 leaving a legacy of some of the many Chinese furnishings and works of art which he acquired during his long and successful career in China. His papers are all archived at Duke University, Durham, NC.