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Various woods
96 x 84 x 134 in (243.8 x 213.3 x 340.3 cm)


Of panelled construction with a porch and raised bed chamber, the upper panels of pierced rectangular fretwork, and parcel-gilt and polychrome decorated panels to the front and interior depicting a variety of figures and auspicious symbols and windows with shutters on square supports. The present lot displays a very high standard of workmanship, and skill unique to Chinese furniture-making of the period: an absence of nails and dowels, and a 'mortise and tenon' approach to building it. This allowed for the wood to be fitted into grooves for easy dismantling and re-assembling when required.


The period of the Qing dynasty was particularly noted for fine furniture produced in China between the 17th and early 20th centuries. Furniture was an integral part of Chinese society; it reflected moral and aesthetic refinement. "The Chinese revered the idea of elegant living, and furniture was part of this [.......] judgements were not just aesthetic, but moral and social as well - used not simply to describe a situation, but to dictate an ideal." (David Linley, Charles Cator & Helen Chislett "Ming and Ch'ing: Golden Ages of Furniture", Star Pieces: The Enduring Beauty of Spectacular Furniture, Thames & Hudson, London 2009, p.88).

Various woods
96 x 84 x 134 in (243.8 x 213.3 x 340.3 cm)


Of panelled construction with a porch and raised bed chamber, the upper panels of pierced rectangular fretwork, and parcel-gilt and polychrome decorated panels to the front and interior depicting a variety of figures and auspicious symbols and windows with shutters on square supports. The present lot displays a very high standard of workmanship, and skill unique to Chinese furniture-making of the period: an absence of nails and dowels, and a 'mortise and tenon' approach to building it. This allowed for the wood to be fitted into grooves for easy dismantling and re-assembling when required.


The period of the Qing dynasty was particularly noted for fine furniture produced in China between the 17th and early 20th centuries. Furniture was an integral part of Chinese society; it reflected moral and aesthetic refinement. "The Chinese revered the idea of elegant living, and furniture was part of this [.......] judgements were not just aesthetic, but moral and social as well - used not simply to describe a situation, but to dictate an ideal." (David Linley, Charles Cator & Helen Chislett "Ming and Ch'ing: Golden Ages of Furniture", Star Pieces: The Enduring Beauty of Spectacular Furniture, Thames & Hudson, London 2009, p.88).