LATE MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

The present daybed, with its simple and restrained lines, represents one of the most popular forms found in classical Chinese furniture design. The use of the daybed was manifold - during the day, it served as a sitting platform, and at night a bed. In Austere Luminosity of Classical Chinese Furniture, Berkeley, 2001, pp. 105-21, S. Handler discusses the origins and uses of this intriguing form. For a further discussion, see R. H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ching Dynasties, New York, 1971, pp. 90-1. Also of note are two similarly dated examples in huanghuali, illustrated by Ellsworth, pls. 37-8. A closely related huanghuali ta, dated 16th/17th century, formerly in the collection of Gangolf Geis, was sold at Christie's New York, 18 September 2003, lot 20.