Page 80 - Christie's Fine Chiense Works of Art November 2018 London

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A RARE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE-BACK
ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
17TH-18TH CENTURY
On each chair the sweeping crest rail terminates in outswept hooks above
shaped spandrels, and forms an elegant curve above the S-shaped splat
carved with a ruyi-head roundel enclosing confronted chilong dragons and
fanked by shaped spandrels. The rear posts continue to form the back legs
below the rectangular frame above shaped, beaded aprons and spandrels
carved in the front with a stylised scroll. The legs are joined by stepped
stretchers and a foot rest above a shaped apron.
Each 38æ in. high x 26Ω in. wide x 19º in. deep (98.5 x 67.3 x 49 cm.) (2)
£100,000–200,000 $140,000–260,000
€120,000–220,000
PROVENANCE:
Property from a Distinguished Private Collection.
For a discussion on this shape of chair, see R.H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture:
Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch’ing Dynasty, New York, 1971,
pp. 86-87, and Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming
and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 43-45.
Examples of this popular form crafted from huanghuali include a pair with
carved ruyi heads on the splats, illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis
Evarts in Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture,
Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, p. 56, no. 26, and later sold at Christie’s
New York, 19 September 1996, lot 99. A single huanghuali horseshoe-back
armchair, carved in a similar fashion, is illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth in
Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung
Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 68-9, no. 14, where it is dated to the late Ming
dynasty, ca. 1600-1650.
明末清初 黃花梨圈椅一對

來源: 重要西方私人珍藏
(2)

78 Other fees apply in addition to the hammer price – see Section D of our Conditions of Sale at the back of this Catalogue