CARVED ZITAN CABINET
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
£12,600
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 3 November 2023 from 09:00 GMT
Description
清 紫檀雕西洋花卉紋櫃
of rectangular form with rounded front corners, in between two pairs of drawers are two-panel doors with metal mounts, masterfully carved in relief in European Rococo style with acanthus and foliate trails, the sides further with suspended eternity knots, all supported on bracket corner feet linked by shaped aprons
Dimensions
48.3cm wide x 48cm high x 24.7cm deep
Provenance
Provenance: Formerly in a private French collection
Footnote
Note: Made from dark and fine-grained zitan, this cabinet is not of typical Chinese form, further with elaborately carved design of scrolling acanthus leaves on all panels. It draws from European decorative arts, thus displaying the cultural and artistic exchange between China and Europe in the Qing dynasty. For related designs on Chinese furniture, compare to a rare pair of zitan Taishi chairs, Qianlong period, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2020, lot 113; Also see an important imperial zitan armchair, Yongzheng to Qianlong period, sold at Christie's New York, 24 Sep 2021, lot 1010. A carved zitan cabinet dated to the Qing dynasty 19th century, with similar composition of shape, form, and size but different decoration to this lot, was sold at the same sale as the above, lot 1020.