Page 56 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION
顯赫私人藏品
238 TP Y
A PAIR OF RARE HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE-BACK
ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
17th century
Each elegantly modelled with the sweeping crest rail terminating in
outswept hooks above shaped spandrels, forming an elegant curve
above the curving splat carved with a ruyi cartouche enclosing a pair
of confronted chilong, flanked by beaded shaped spandrels, the rear
posts continuing to form the back legs below the rectangular frame
above shaped beaded aprons and spandrels carved to the front with
foliate scrolls, with plain beaded aprons and spandrels on the sides, all
supported on four round legs joined by stretchers.
98cm (38 1/2in) high x 63cm (24 6/8in) wide x 45.3cm (17 6/8in) deep. (2).

£60,000 - 80,000
CNY530,000 - 710,000 A woodblock illustration from
The Golden Lotus, Jin Ping Mei
十七世紀 黃花梨圈椅成對

Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong (labels)
A distinguished American private collection

來源：香港古董商嘉木堂(標籤)
美國重要私人收藏

The present chairs are distinguished by the attractively-figured draped with sumptuous textiles and provided with a footstool. Their
huanghuali grain on the backsplat, the vigorous outline of the shaped wide seats, C-shaped splats and curved backs made these chairs
aprons and the refined quality of the carving of the splat medallions particularly comfortable and suitable for informal contexts. They also
and aprons. served as sedan chairs reserved for officials of high rank, and were
considered markers of high status; see C.Clunas, Chinese Furniture,
The Chinese name for this type of chair, quanyi, literally translates as London, 1988, p.24.
‘chair with a circular back’ or ‘circle chair’. During the Song dynasty,
this form was known as kaolaoyang, referring to a large round basket The crisp angular scrollwork decorating the aprons appears to have
made from split bamboo. been inspired by designs found on archaic bronzes, reflecting the
interest in antiquarianism which was popular among the literati elites
Horseshoe-back chairs, quanyi, are notable for their elegant curving during the 17th century. According to Robert Ellsworth, the archaistic
crest rails and sweeping armrests and are timeless in their balanced designs are an innovation attributable to the late Ming and Kangxi
interplay between curvilinear and straight members. These chairs were period; see R.H.Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture. Hardwood Examples of
inspired by seats made of pliable lengths of bamboo with seemingly- the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, New York, 1971, p.86.
simple continuous crest rails achieved through an ingenious joinery
technique. To recreate a continuous back when using less pliable Horseshoe-back chairs were generally made in sets of two or four. A
hardwoods, the various members were fitted together with a cut-out single huanghuali horseshoe-back armchair, late Ming dynasty, carved
to accommodate a tapered wood pin that locked them firmly in place in similar fashion to the present chairs, is illustrated by R.H.Ellsworth,
when inserted. The complexity of the design required utmost precision, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and
as a slight error in the angle of any of the joins would be magnified by Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp.68-69, no.14. See
the adjoining members. A lacquer coating was then applied to make also a huanghuali horseshoe armchair, 17th century, carved with
the underlying joinery virtually invisible; see R.H.Ellsworth, Chinese similar ruyi heads on the splat, illustrated by Wang Shixiang and
Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch’ing Dynasty, C.Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese
New York, 1971, pp.86-87. Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, p.56, no.26.

Lightweight yet sturdy, quanyi armchairs were amongst the most A pair of similar huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs, 17th/18th
prestigious seats in Ming and Qing dynasty households. They were century, was sold at Bonhams London, 13 May 2021, lot 52; see also
reserved for high-ranking members of society and frequently depicted another similar huanghuali example, 17th/18th century, which was sold
in woodblock illustrations. During formal occasions, quanyi chairs were at Christie’s New York, 18 March March 2015, lot 139.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
54 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.