Pair of Zitan compound cabinets and hatchests, Sijiangui, 19th century, Each cabinet is of mass

Pair of Zitan compound cabinets and hatchests, 

Sijiangui, 19th century,

Each cabinet is of massive rectangular form. The hatchest has square panel doors, elaborately carved in deep relief with a single dragon chasing a flaming pearl amidst clouds, above the larger cabinet set with single-panel doors finely carved with four five-clawed dragons chasing a flaming pearl amidst swirling clouds, below a single horizontal panel carved with dragons confronting a flaming pearl. 

The doors are centered around a removable stile, and open to reveal the shelved interior, above the shaped apron carved en suite with confronting dragons. Each cabinet is fitted withbaitong metal hardware and the feet are clad in baitong sabots.

Constructed from the precious hardwood, zitan, the present pair represent an extremely luxurious use of a rare wood that was highly valued during the Qing dynasty. Zitan is a general term which includes numerous species of wood, however, it is commonly agreed that it belongs to the genus Pterocarpus. A purplish-black, fine-grained hardwood, zitan was considered the most prized hardwood by the Chinese. 

The density of the wood makes this material especially suitable for fine and intricate carving. The wood’s scarcity was compounded by the fact that the trees themselves are slow growing and require centuries to fully mature into usable material. Although local sources of zitan exist in the southern provinces of Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi, much of the material was imported from Southeast Asia. 

As an imported commodity, its use was scrupulously monitored and carefully restricted at the Imperial workshops.

94 3/8 in. (239.8 cm.) high, 45 in. (114.3 cm.) wide, 21 3/8 in. (54.4 cm.) deep. 

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