China pair of Qing period huang huali wood "display"... Lot 18

China pair of Qing period huang huali wood "display" cabinets with a display niche on the top, two drawers under the niche and two doors used to store objects not on display. 135 x 63.5 x 33 cm Note: Wen Zhengheng in his late Ming work Zhang wu zhi (Treatise on superfluous things) uses the term Chu for this type of cabinet. He calls Chu dian the display platform that he says is "intended for the display of archaic bronzes, jades and curiosities". Thus, as with the paintings, he favors displaying the collections in rotation according to the seasons and mood. The rest of the collection is stored in individual boxes in the lower part of the cabinet. Cf: Craig Clunas, "Chinese furniture" V&AM 1988 p.87 par. 73.