A RARE HUANGHUALI MEDICINE CHEST WITH DRAWERS, YAOXIANG Late Ming DynastyTHE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN FAMILY 歐洲家族藏品A RARE HUANGHUALI MEDICINE CHEST WITH DRAWERS, YAOXIANGLate Ming DynastyOf rectangular form, constructed with a removable panel door at the front fitted with a baitong circular lock plate and side lock, above a reticulated baitong door pull suspended from a chrysanthemum-shaped plate, all within baitong ruyi plates, the sides set with a pair of rectangular handles suspended from rhombus-shaped plates above a metal fitting with an opening to allow threading through a string for carriage, the edges reinforced with baitong strips, the interior with six drawers, each fitted with a pair of metal pulls. 36cm (14 1/8in) high x 42cm (16 1/2in) wide x 26cm (10 2/8in) deep. 明晚期 黃花梨插門式六屜箱Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 October 2016, lot 3008An important European private collection, and thence by descent來源：香港蘇富比，2016年10月5日，拍品編號3008歐洲重要私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今Constructed from highly-figured huanghuali wood, the present lot is a rare example of a medicine chest, yaoxiang. The term refers to small boxes with no opening at the top. While such boxes may have been intended to store precious herbs, medicines and medical instruments, they were equally suitable as tabletop chests for storing small items, from documents to writing materials. The present example features a front panel that can be removed to permit access to the six drawers. The door is held in place by tongue-and-grove at the bottom and a brass lock above. According to 'Random Notes on Times of Leisure' Xian qing ou ji by Li Yu (1610-1680) (a Ming dynasty intellectual and playwright), multi-drawer cabinets were designed for scholars after the design of a pharmacist's 'hundred-eye cabinet'.For a discussion about the use of these chests see G.Wu Bruce, 'Small Portable Treasures', Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Autumn 1993, pp.60-62. Compare with a related huanghuali medicine cabinet, 17th century, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, vol.2, pl.E21.sold_price_type: £