A pair of 'huanghuali' yokeback armchairs (Sichutou Guanmaoyi), 17th century

拍品描述

Property from a Distinguished Philadelphia Collection (2) Height 44⅜ in., 112.7 cm; width 23½ in., 59.7 cm; depth 20⅜ in., 51.8 cm Exuding a sense of power and testifying to the grandeur of their owner, the present chairs are classic examples of the iconic ‘Northern official's hat’ design (bei guanmaoyi) which rose to prominence during the Ming dynasty. Also known as sichutou guanmaoyi (‘four protrusions official’s hat chairs’), due to their extended top rail and arm rests, the form affords the chairs a commanding presence that seems to emanate through a room. The curve of the top rail imitated in the arms, supports and the subtle beaded apron, the present pair demonstrate the craftsman’s magnificent sense of balance and understanding of form. Chairs of this design, while perfected in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, appear to have derived from related earlier forms. Consider a chair depicted in Wang Qihan's Kanshu Tu [Picture of book proofreading] from the Southern Tang state (937–976) of the Five Dynasties which bears a remarkable resemblance to the present form. For other classical examples from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, compare a pair of closely related design (bar decoration to the aprons), sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th April 2024, lot 3679 (Fig. 1); another pair sold in these rooms, 18th and 19th March 2014, lot 419; and a third, sold from the collection of St. Matthias Church, British Columbia, in these rooms, 11th and 12th September 2012, lot 218.

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