λ A CHINESE HONGMU LUOHANCHUANG

of mortise and tenon construction, the top inset with woven matting, all on hoof-form feet

49cm high, 96cm wide, 187cm long

Provenance

From an English private collection, Sussex.

Catalogue Note

Day beds have been recorded in use as early as the Han dynasty and later became particularly popular during the Ming dynasty. They were used for studying or to practice other scholarly activities, such as weiqi or chess. An illustration of this use can be found, for instance, in a woodblock print from the early 17th century publication Chengshi moyuan, illustrated in Sarah Handler, Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese Architecture, p.104. Here, a scholar is depicted seated on a day bed, surrounded by books and scrolls, his left elbow supported by an arm rest.