A Huanghuali Sloping-Stile Wood-Hinged Cabinet

Late Ming Dynasty
Cabinet
Cocobolo (Huanghuali), Brass

• The top of the furniture features a standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with tongue-and-groove floating panels and exposed tenons on the short sides, supported by two dovetailed transverse braces underneath for added stability.
• The four main stiles are moulded and beaded on three sides, giving a rounded exterior corner and a squared interior, with each stile double tenoned into the top, revealing one tenon for aesthetic and structural purposes.
• The doors, positioned on either side of a removable central stile, are made with a standard mitred frame construction and each frame member, including the central stile, features a raised half-round center with a flat, narrow band edge, while the exterior stiles are moulded only on the insides, ending in extended dowels that fit into the top frame and a horizontal stretcher below the doors.
• Inside, there is one removable shelf supported by the dovetailed transverse braces of the side panels, and a permanent central section that includes a shelf and two drawers with huangtong plates and pulls, while the exterior includes a plain mitred apron that fits into the legs and is joined to a beaded-edged stretcher below the doors.
• The door frame members and the central stile are fitted with three curved rectangular metal plates and are adorned with three square lock receptacles and two elegantly shaped door pulls, enhancing both the functionality and the aesthetics of the piece.

Reference and image source: Sotheby's Hong Kong Limited