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Provenance:

From a Florida Collection of Chinese Art, purchased in Hawaii during the 1970’s

Note:

Day beds were an important part of the traditional Chinese home. As described on page 118 of Nancy Berliner’s BEYOND THE SCREEN. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1996, the day bed had a multi-functional role and served as a site for welcoming guests, napping, meditation and eating meals.
This Lohan day bed could have been used in both a formal and informal setting, allowing the sitter’s legs to be pendant or fully stretched in a reclining position. This was reflective of an earlier change that had begun during the Song Dynasty, when it became more common for people to sit on furniture with legs pendant rather than sit or kneel on floor mats, as had been done in earlier periods. For a plainer ‘jumu’ (elm) example of the day bed please refer to Christie’s New York ‘Fine Chinese Furniture, Ceramics and Works of Art’ September 16, 1999, lot 63 while a more ornate huanghuali bed featuring carved dragons on the rails was offered at Christie’s New York ‘The Dr S. Y. Yip Collection’ September 20, 2002, lot 50