73×44×123 cm (28 3/4×17 3/8×48 3/8 in)

The raised-bead, floating panel on the door of this small, huang hua-li wood-hinged cabinet is created by leveling the surface of the panel on either side of the beaded border, leaving the border in relief. The edge of the floating panel forms a tongue-and-groove join with the mitered door frame, which has a raised, molded, inside edge. When the panel is joined with the frame, the effect of a double border on each door is created. This type of raised-bead panel is a precursor of later types of raised panels on which less sophisticated techniques produced similar, but less refined, effects.
The cabinet does not have a removable central stile. Because the molding on the door frames is set in from the edge of the door, the escutcheons are flush with the surface, rather than having been molded to conform with the stiles as they are on other examples in this collection.
The top panel of this cabinet is also made of huang hua-li. Cabinets often have softwood panels on the less visible surfaces and the presence of a hardwood top reflects a measure of extravagance in construction. Aprons on the front and sides are carved with a bifurcated scrolling-tendril pattern that follows the serpentine lower edge of the apron with a strongly molded border.
——Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Nicholas Grindley, and Anita Christy, Chinese Funiture: One Hundred and Three Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection

Price estimate:
HKD: 2,400,000 - 3,400,000
USD: 308,300 - 436,800

Auction Result:
HKD: --