SMALL QIANGJIN AND TIANQI LACQUER CABINET Kangxi... Lot 29

SMALL QIANGJIN AND TIANQI LACQUER CABINET Kangxi period (1662-1722) A SMALL QIANGJIN AND TIANQI LACQUER SEAL CHEST, GUANPIXIANG Kangxi (1662-1722) Of rectangular form, the hinged flat-top cover opening to reveal a fitted tray above a pair of doors concealing three short and three long drawers, decorated around the body with scenes featuring various flowers, butterflies and birds, the inside drawers similarly decorated with flower sprays, each door with an interior panel decorated with a tall vase containing flowers, the cover with a shaped medallion enclosing a parrot perched on a flowering branch surrounded by five large peaches, applied across the front cover and doors with a shaped metal lockplate and ruyi-shaped clasp, above a pair of shaped plates and pulls, the sides set with a pair of bail handles, all on a raised flat base, later added stand. 43.5cm (17 1/8in) wide x 33cm (13in) deep x 43cm (16 7/8in) high. Footnotes: 清康熙 戗金填漆官皮箱 Small cabinets such as this example were made from the mid-to late Ming dynasty. Several examples inscribed with Jiajing and Wanli marks, with painted lacquer designs or decorated in the same qiangjin and tianqi technique, are in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, compare, for instance, a gilt-decorated black lacquer chest with a Wanli mark, illustrated in Hu Desheng, Gugong shoucang. Ni yingai zhidao de 200 jian caihua jiaju (Collection of the Palace Museum. Painted Furniture), Beijing, 2009, no.99, pp.146-147. Compare another example decorated in the same qiangjin and tianqi technique as the current chest, illustrated ibid. no.183, pp.256-257. It may be noted here that a small qiangjin and tianqi cabinet in the collection of the Guimet Museum, Paris, is possibly the pair to the present piece (Legs. Hugot, 1976, acc.no.MA3784). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com