Page 206 - Bonhams, The H Collection, Classical Chinese Furniture, May 13, 2021 London

Huanghuali yokeback armchairs such as the present examples are 通身以方材製作，搭腦平直，靠背板上端微微後彎，嵌圓形理石板。
notable for their simplicity and harmonious form. Their name ‘official 後腿上截與靠背板彎出相同弧度，出榫納入搭腦，下穿過椅盤成為腿
hat-shaped chairs’ derives from the resemblance of their crestrail 足。平直的扶手作肩接入後腿上截，另一端與另木安裝的鵝脖相連，
to the winged hat that was part of the formal attire of Ming officials. 聯幫棍省略不用。籐編座面，椅盤下四面光素短牙板。腿間施方材步
Guanmaoyi chairs were regarded as high-status chairs and retained 步高趕棖，前棖下施牙條。
a connotation of authority associated with the elite gentry in Chinese
society. According to the ‘Classic of Lu Ban’ Lu Ban jing, a 15th 官帽椅以理石鑲嵌為飾者，頗為稀有。自漢代始，石材就被用於裝飾
century carpenter’s manual, the joinery of yokeback chairs was the 傢具；黑白紋路的大理石，如水墨山水，尤為文人墨客所珍尚。文震
quintessential achievement of Chinese furniture construction; see 亨所著《長物誌》「大理石」條中稱，「白若玉、黑若墨為貴...... 但
C.Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p.20. 得舊石，天成山水雲煙，如米家山，此為無上佳品」；「椅」條中又
稱，「烏木鑲大理石者，最稱貴重」。參考W.S.Lee著，《Status of
Guanmaoyi chairs inset with marble panels on the splat are unusual. the Materials Used in Suzhou Gardens in the Late Ming Dynasty》，
Decorative stone panels were incorporated into furniture design from 檀香山，2006年，頁70。
at least the Han period. Decorative stone panels were highly regarded
by the literati for their abstract imagery and complex patterns which 對比一具Tseng Riddell收藏十七世紀官帽椅，收錄於《風華再現：明
often evoked dramatic misty ink landscapes. These panels were often 清家具收藏展》，台北，國立歷史博物館，1999年，頁83。另見一對
set into tables, display stands or screens. The most attractive panels 十七至十八世紀黃花梨嵌理石官帽椅，售於香港佳士得，2018年5月
were reserved for larger furniture, such as wall panels and the railings 30日，拍品編號3017。
surrounding large daybeds. The presence of beautifully variegated
stone-inset furniture was a signifier of refined taste and wealth, as Wen
Zhenheng advocated in his ‘Treatise on Superfluous Things’ Zhang Wu
Zhi, a Ming dynasty work on taste and interior design; see W.S.Lee,
Status of the Materials Used in Suzhou Gardens in the Late Ming
Dynasty, Honolulu, 2006, p.70.

A related yokeback armchair, 17th century, from the Tseng Riddell
collection, is illustrated in the National Palace Museum, Splendor of
Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taipei,
1999, p.83.

Compare with a related pair of huanghuali Dali-marble-inset armchairs,
guanmaoyi, 17th-18th century, which was sold at Christie’s Hong
Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 3017.

A pair of huanghuali armchairs, circa 1550-1600; image after C.Clunas,
Chinese Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1997, p.18, fig.3
約1550-1600年，黃花梨四出頭官帽椅成對；收錄於柯律格，《Chinese
Furniture》，倫敦維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館，1997年，頁18，圖3

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