Page 228 - Christie's King St, November 8, 2016

*200
A RARE HUANGHUALI ‘SOUTHERN OFFICIALS HAT’ ARMCHAIR,
NANGUANMAOYI
MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

The chair is fnely carved with a ruyi-shaped panel to the shaped backsplat, fanked by
corner posts which extend through the rectangular seat frame enclosing a mat seat. The
outcurved arms are supported by tapering side posts and front posts extending to the
front legs. The legs are joined by a beaded apron carved with foliate scrolls, above long
spandrels. The feet are joined by the footrest and side stretchers supported by aprons.
40¡ in. (112.6 cm.) high, 23æ in. (62.8 cm.) wide, 19æ in. (50.2 cm.) deep

£50,000-70,000 $65,000-90,000
€58,000-80,000

PROVENANCE

With Ming Furniture Ltd., New York, 2008.
From the collection of a distinguished Asian gentleman.

The southern oficial’s hat armchair is one of the most popular forms in Chinese
furniture construction. It difers from the oficial’s hat armchair in that its crest rail
continues into the back rails as opposed to extending beyond them. The style of the
present example is therefore also known as a continuous yokeback armchair. For a
comprehensive view of the evolution of the yokeback chair, see Sarah Handler, ‘A
Yokeback Chair for Sitting Tall,’ Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society,
Spring 1993, pp. 4-23, where the author sheds light on the development of the
yokeback chair as one of the earliest chair types in China. The frst known depiction
of the yokeback chair is from a cave painting in Dunhuang, dated 538. From that early
period in Chinese history, the yokeback chair developed into one of the most popular
and successful forms of furniture.

The present chair appears to be the matching pair to the continuous yokeback
armchair illustrated by Sarah Handler in Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese
Architecture, Berkeley, California, 2004, p. 118.

明 黃花梨如意紋南官帽椅
來源: 亞洲重要私人珍藏; 於2008年購自紐約古董商Ming Furniture Ltd.

226 FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART