Page 156 - Sothebys Fine Chinese Art London, November 2018

119

PROPERTY FROM A GERMAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
A GOOD PAIR OF ‘HUANGHUALI’
‘OFFICIAL’S HAT’ ARMCHAIRS
17TH CENTURY

each with round yokeback toprail supported on slender
round stiles extending to the back legs, the bulging armrests
supported on serpentine side posts and ‘goose-neck’ front
posts, the S-curved backsplat above the rectangular seat
set with soft mat, the feet joined by stretchers and a footrest
above humpback aprons, the front legs with a humpback
apron carved with foliage
(2)
117 by 60 by 46.5 cm, 46 by 23½ by 18¼ in.
Also known as nanguanmaoyi (southern official’s hat chair),
this pair of armchairs is notable for its undulating silhouette
of the crestrail, which is effectively echoed by the out-curved
armrests and reinforced by the foliate scrolls along the front
apron.
See a smaller chair of this type, but carved with a central
foliate medallion on the backsplat, illustrated in Sarah Handler,
Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese Architecture, Berkeley,
2004, p. 118; and another, sold at Christie’s London, 15th May
2018, lot 311. Further related examples were sold in our New
York rooms, including two chairs rendered with plain aprons,
the first from the collection of The Reverend Richard Fabian,
15th March 2016, lot 13, and the other, 12th September 2018,
lot 290; and a pair, decorated with a shou medallion on the
backsplat, attributed to the 17th/18th century, sold 16th March
2006, lot 280.
◉ W £ 20,000-30,000
HK$ 203,000-304,000 US$ 25,900-38,800
清十七/十八世紀 黃花梨官帽椅一對

154 SOTHEBY’S