Page 189 - Important Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, Hong Kong

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 明末 / 清初 黃花梨四出頭官帽椅一對

3359 來源
Caroline Bieber
A RARE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI ‘FOUR- 由匿名捐贈人購於 1965 年
1977 年捐贈予弗林特藝術學院，弗林特，密歇根
CORNERS EXPOSED’ ARMCHAIRS, SICHUTOU 弗林特藝術學院於 2006 年出售
Nicholas Grindley，倫敦，2007 年
GUANMAOYI
此對椅搭腦及扶手兩端出頭，故稱之為「四出頭官帽椅」。其線條流暢，
LATE MING/EARLY QING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY 用料寬厚，是明式傢俱簡約風格的典範。諸細部如搭腦、扶手、背板、
聯幫棍等均顯弧度，製作時必然會削掉大量木料，足見此對椅子用料之
Each imposing chair is constructed with a sweeping crest rail 奢豪，原主人想必為貴冑達官。
supported by an S-shaped splat and elegantly curved rear posts
which continue to form the square-sectioned feet. The serpentine 可參考一件比例與本拍品非常接近的黃花梨四出頭官帽椅，惟背板兩側
arms extend beyond the curved front posts and are anchored by 沒有雕飾，載於王世襄著，《Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming
tapering side posts to the rectangular seat frame enclosing a hard and Early Qing Dynasties》，香港，1990 年，圖版 A70。另可比較美國
mat seat, above shaped, beaded aprons and spandrels on all four Philip W. Manhard 及倫敦 Eskenazi 先後遞藏的一對黃花梨四出頭官帽椅，
sides. The legs are joined by stepped stretchers and a footrest. 2016 年 3 月 17-18 日於紐約佳士得拍賣，拍品 1317 號。北京故宮博物
46 Ω in. (118.1 cm.) high, 23 Ω in. (59.7 cm.) wide, 院亦藏一件相似例，著錄於 2002 年香港出版故宮博物院藏文物珍品全
21 ¬ in. (54.4 cm.) deep 集《明清家具（上）》，圖版 26 號。最後可參考安思遠舊藏一黃花梨
四出頭官帽椅，其搭腦及扶手較筆直，2015 年 3 月 17 日於紐約佳士得
HK$6,000,000-8,000,000 US$780,000-1,000,000 拍賣，拍品 50 號。

PROVENANCE

Caroline Bieber
Purchased by an anonymous donor in 1965
Donated to the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan in 1977
De-accessed in 2006
Nicholas Grindley Ltd., London, 2007

The present pair of chairs displays an unparalleled grace and finesse
seen only in the finest furniture dating to the Ming and early Qing
dynasties. Of the four categories of chair, the ‘four corners-exposed’
armchair is one of the earliest classic forms found in huanghuali
furniture design. The present pair of chairs is distinguished by the
elegant lines and fine quality of the huanghuali.

The deeply curved crest rails with rounded ends are beautifully carved
and dramatically contrast the box-like construction of the lower
section. The thick curved members would have resulted in a significant
amount of wastage, and suggests the considerable importance of the
gentleman who commissioned the chairs. One closely comparable
published example, of similar proportion, is a single chair exhibiting
the same protruding crest rail and handgrips, gently curved splat and
square-section legs, but without the carved embellishments on both
sides of the splat, illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of
Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990,
pl. A70. Another example is a pair of huanghuali sichutou armchairs
formerly in the collections of Philip W. Manhard (1922-1998), McLean,
Virginia and Eskenazi Ltd., London, sold at Christie’s New York, 17-18
March 2016, lot 1317. Another example of similar proportions is in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Furniture of the Ming and
Qing Dynasties (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace
Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 26. Compare also to a single huanghuali
sichutou chair with a less curved crest rail and without the posts that
join the armrests to the seat rails, formerly in the Robert H. Ellsworth
Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 50.

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