Huanghuali
China, 17th century
Large daybed with a rectangular reclining area
Waisted frame on four square, curved legs carried by small cubes
Original arm and backrest with intricately carved relief panels, moveable and profoundly worked
The slightly raised backrest with a central rectangular reserve with a pair of Chilong Dragons around a Lingzhi mushroom, flanked on both sides by a medallion reserve with further pairs of Chilongs
Each armrest has a rectangular reserve with a pair of chilong dragon around a pagoda
This type of furniture is known in Chinese as Luohanchuang (???) or „Luohan Bed“
Dimensions: 67 x 197 x 94 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection of a German diplomat, thence by descent

The Huanghuali daybed from the 17th century is characterized by its extremely elegant proportions which emphasize the excellent and expressive grain of the fine wood. The original back and arm rest show finely carved reliefs with pairs of Chilong Dragon´s. Daybeds of this form and of this quality are among the rarest and most extravagant furniture of the late Ming dynasty and can be found in a very few museum collections.

Comparable daybeds are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, illustrated in Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, New York 1971, no. 34, 34a as well as in Sarah Handler, The Revolution in Chinese Furniture: Moving from Mat to Chair, Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Winter 1990, p. 38 ff. See also another example in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, illustrated in Nancy Berliner, Beyond the Screen, Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston 1996, pp. 118f, no. 14, in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Vol. II: Plates., Hong Kong, 1990, S. 128, as well as in the Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis 1990, p. 82f, no. 22.

Literature: Cf. Berliner [ed.], Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston 1996, pp. 118f. und Jacobsen, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis 1999, pp. 84f.

Huang-hua-li

Huanghuali (Dalbergia odorifera) is a rare type of rosewood that was used in China for traditional medicine and to make precious furniture. Originally known as huali or hualu, the specification ‘huang’ (yellowish-brown) was added in the 20th century to differentiate between aged Huanghuali with a yellowish brown patina and newer, so-called xinhuali. Huanghuali literally means ‘yellowish blooming pear wood’. Very good Huanghuali wood has a shimmering, nearly translucent surface with a beautiful, abstract grain. The color varies from reddish brown to golden yellow. Huanghuali probably originally came from the island Hainan, but similar kinds also grow in Northern Vietnam, Guangxi and Indochina.

Condition: The bed is in good refreshed condition with usual signs of age and wear such as little notches and nicks here and there. The height of the bed without backrest measures 46 cm and with backrest 67 cm. The width is 197 cm and depth 94 cm.

Provenance: Private collection of a German diplomat, thence by descent

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