Excavation HK Fringe Club

Oi Ling had been storing this one in her Guangzhou warehouse for about 9 years. She had in fact forgotten about it and was only when a mainland dealer recently arrived to clear out a lot of her stock did the piece get revealed! It was in a slightly sorry state when I first saw it - but it's power on me was immediate. I can't describe it except I perceived an 'aura'. It seemed to exert a natural authority as if it was almost a 'prototype'. I noted some damage to the legs and side, and water-staining to the frame. After reserving it for about a month (I needed to sleep on the decision) I finally committed. A restorer off Old Bailey Street disassembled it, cleaned and reassembled it giving it a slight waxing to lift the grain and patina. I was nervous about this at first but must say that it now looks much finer. Typical of the Ming craftsman it is held together by ingeniously devised mortise and tenon joints and required no glue upon reassembly. On receiving the piece at my home I placed it by a window leading out onto my little balcony and noticed that the cane mat seating revealed a hidden pattern in it. It was the Ming swastika puzzle pattern sometimes used in Ming bed frame screens and other objects. It seemed to ‘lift’ the piece and give it some softness. It came as a wonderful surprise to me.

This stool was crafted at the tail end of what is now known as 'the golden era' of Chinese furniture; 'golden' in that the craft reached a zenith of simplicity and synthesis both in construction and form derived from previous eras. Commonly referred to as 'Ming furniture' this period in fact spanned from about the mid 16th C (late Ming) to mid 18th C (early Qing). It's design clearly reflects this. Just as neo-classical architecture coming at the tail end of the classical era reduced the classical language down to emblematic essentials - this late style reduces down all the essentials of understood Ming features. Ming furniture may be understood to be divided into two broad families - 'waisted' (i.e. with an indented band or waist) and 'unwaisted'. Waisted furniture is now considered to have evolved from Tang box construction, unwaisted from building construction. Most chairs of the period with arm rests would have been unwaisted, whilst stools would usually be waisted. This stool is waisted in the most basic manner, has simple hump-backed stretchers and a plain unbeaded apron. The wood is 'huanghuali' (yellow flower pear) wood, a wood so highly prized by connoisseurs of furniture at the time that Chinese craftsmen almost caused the tree's extinction. It's scarcity alone dates the piece as clearly before the late 18th C after which time alternative woods such as northern elm and Chinese locust were sought.

The stool's unusual size and proportions makes it looks more like a modern coffee table measuring a substantial 625mm x 625mm x 525mm high. Ming tables of the time would never have been so low and of such proportions. Such pieces are ascribed as of 'meditation' scale - notionally allowing the occupant to sit cross-legged on its surface without body parts extending beyond - this was particularly useful for users of the even rarer meditation chair - their knees avoiding entanglement with the armrests. In addition the cane seating is finely woven and quite probably original or near original - something very rare. The feet are the 'horse hoof' type but elongated and less fluid dating the piece as early Qing and quite possibly of the emperor Yongzheng’s period – reflecting his austere tastes. Its overall masculine form (unlike the more feminine earlier forms famed by the Suchow craftsmen) places it as northern, possibly made in Beijing (where it was purchased) and of the 'capital' style.

I've only had it for a couple of weeks now and it feels quite a presence in my little flat. Maybe I'll have to move out and leave it there if it exerts any more authority over me!

Chris Cowell 35, Department of Architecture, University of Hong Kong