Page 44 - Christies Asia Week 2015 Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ARCH. IGNAZIO VOK
2030
AN IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE SET OF FOUR HUANGHUALI
‘FOUR-CORNERS-EXPOSED OFFICIAL’S HAT’ ARMCHAIRS,
SICHUTOUGUANMAOYI
LATE 16TH-EARLY 17TH CENTURY
Of grand proportions, each chair has a well-carved, curved,
protruding crestrail supported on a broad S-shaped splat and
elegantly curved rear posts which continue to form the rear legs. The
attractively grained, matched splats are cut from the same section
of wood. The curved arm rails are supported on tapered, curved
vertical stiles and extend beyond the curved front posts. The molded
rectangular frame encloses a mat seat, all above beaded and shaped
aprons and spandrels. The legs are of rounded square section and are
joined by stepped stretchers and a foot rest above plain aprons.
The joints are reinforced with huangtong hardware.
Two of the four chairs have huangtong footrest covers.
48 in. (122 cm.) high, 23º in. (59 cm.) wide,
18¬ in. (47.4 cm.) deep (4)
$1,800,000-2,500,000
PROVENANCE:
Two of the set of four without huangtong footrest covers:
James Freeman, London.
Eskenazi Ltd., London, 1998.
Two of the set with huangtong footrest covers:
Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2000.
EXHIBITED:
Museum fzr Ostasiatische Kunst, K2ln, Pure Form: Classical Chinese
Furniture: Vok Collection, 6 November 2004 - 28 March 2005.
Museum fzr Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Sit in China: An Excursion
through 500 Years of the Culture of Sitting, 2009.
LITERATURE:
Eskenazi, Ltd., London, Chinese Works of Art and Furniture, London,
1998, no. 7 (two of the set of four).
R. Kerr, ‘Four High Yokeback Armchairs Reunited as a Set’,
Orientations, December 2000, p. 81.
N. Grindley et al., Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture: Vok
Collection, Padua, 2004, pls. 6-9.
V. Fischer, Sit in China: An Excursion through 500 Years of the Culture of
Sitting, Stuttgart, 2009, pp. 23-25, pls. 5-6.
Fig.1. “Offcial’s Cap” Armchair (one of a pair), China, late Fig.2. One of an extremely rare and important set of four
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) or early Qing Dynasty (1644- huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs, quanyi, from the
1911), 17th century. Huanghuali wood, 47Ω x 23 x 17Ω
in.(120.7 x 58.4 x 44.5 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum York, 17 March 2015, lot 41.
42 of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Purchase: William Rockhill
Nelson Trust, 64-4/13 B.
Originally commissioned as a set of four, the present chairs were at some
point split into two pairs and later reunited by the present collector in
2000. See Rose Kerr, ‘Four High Yoke-back Armchairs Reunited as a Set’,
Orientations, December 2000, p. 81. In the article, Kerr suggests that
the extraordinary height of the present chairs and elegant form suggest
a formal use and a display function, and that they would have only been
offered to guests of honor. The chairs would have bestowed a sense of
dignity and power on any sitter.
The present set of four chairs displays an unparalleled grace and finesse
seen only in the finest furniture dated to the Ming dynasty. Several features
distinguish this magnificent set: the grand and elegant proportions, the
graceful curve of the crest rail, the exceptionally well-carved sweeping hook
handles, and the beautifully figured S-form backsplat. The curved, matched
backsplats have the same beautifully figured grain and confirm that all
four splats were cut from the same section of timber. The large sections of
huanghuali required to achieve the dramatic curves of the arms and crest
rails would have resulted in a significant amount of wastage, and suggests
the enormous financial resources of the gentleman who commissioned the
set. The confident carving of the outswept hook handles and the superior
quality of the huanghuali suggest that the chairs were constructed by a
master craftsman. And the beautifully worked brass metal fittings carefully
secured at the joints not only provide structural support but add a touch of
flourish to this superb set of chairs.
The most comparable published example is a single chair, illustrated
by G.W. Bruce, Living with Ming - the Lu Ming Shi Collection, Hong
Kong, 2000, pp. 56-7, no. 4, where it is also dated late 16th-early 17th
century. The chair shares the same grand proportions, cusped aprons, and
huangtong fittings found on the present examples. Compare, also, two
huanghuali ‘Official’s Hat’ armchairs, of similar height and proportions,
currently in the Nelson-Atkins Collection and published by R. Ellsworth,
Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch’ing
Dynasties, New York, 1979, no. 10 (fig. 1).
Sets of four chairs are rare and unusual, and, only a few prominent sets
have appeared, most notably the exquisite set of four horseshoe-back
armchairs from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, sold at Christie’s New
York, 17 March 2015, lot 41 (fig. 2).
明十六世紀末/十七世紀初 黃花梨四出頭官帽椅一套四張
Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Part I: Christie’s New