Page 256 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art

328 TP Y
A RARE HUANGHUALI ‘SOUTHERN OFFICIAL’S HAT’
YOKEBACK ARMCHAIR, NANGUANMAOYI
17th/18th century
With a narrow crest-rail supported on slender, gracefully tapered and
curved rear posts flanking the S-shaped splat, above the mat seat set
within the beaded frame with rounded edges, the elegantly curved
and slender arm rails supported by vertical posts and terminating in
outswept front rails, all above plain aprons and spandrels, the legs of
rounded square section joined by a front footrest and back stretchers,
the wood of a rich honey-brown tone.
118cm high (46 1/2in) high x 61cm (24in) wide x 45.6cm (18in) deep

£100,000 - 120,000
CNY860,000 - 1,000,000

十七/十八世紀 黃花梨南官帽椅

Provenance: a French private collection

來源： 法國私人收藏

Characterised by remarkable elegance and linearity of forms, yoke-
back armchairs, like the present lot, were associated with the status
and authority of the scholarly elites of Imperial China. A woodblock
print in the 1616 edition of ‘The Golden Lotus’ Jing Ping Mei, for
instance, depicts the main male figure and his spouse seated on
guanmaoyi chairs, with the others sitting on stools. For a discussion
about guanmaoyi chairs, see C.Evans, ‘From the Ornate to the
Unadorned’, in Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society,
Spring 1993, pp.24-33.

Compare with a huanghuali guanmaoyi armchair illustrated by Wang
Shixiang in Classical Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1986, pl.45.

A pair of similar chairs, dated to the 17th century, was sold at
Sotheby’s London, 6 November 2013, lot 52.

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