Coco Li
Sale Coordinator, Chinese Works of Art
Lot 91Y
A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE BACK ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
17th/18th century
20 March 2023, 11:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$227,175 inc. premium
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A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE BACK ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
17th/18th century
Each constructed with a three-part curved toprail composed of pressure-pinned overlapping scarf joints tenoned into oval-shaped backrails run through the seat to form the back supports and enclosed above the seat with paired beaded spandrels, the plain c-curved backsplat is well figured and tenoned into the back seat frame with the out-curved armrests supported by bowed posts and front rails by beaded spandrels tongue-and-grooved into the supports and tenoned into the seat frame fitted with a soft mat seat supported by paired transverse bowed stretchers set into the double-molded seat over plain beaded aprons and stepped box stretchers.
Chair: 39 3/4in (99.7cm) total high;
Seat frame: 20 1/4in x 23 5/8 x 18 1/2in (51.4 x 60 x 46.3cm) (2).
Each constructed with a three-part curved toprail composed of pressure-pinned overlapping scarf joints tenoned into oval-shaped backrails run through the seat to form the back supports and enclosed above the seat with paired beaded spandrels, the plain c-curved backsplat is well figured and tenoned into the back seat frame with the out-curved armrests supported by bowed posts and front rails by beaded spandrels tongue-and-grooved into the supports and tenoned into the seat frame fitted with a soft mat seat supported by paired transverse bowed stretchers set into the double-molded seat over plain beaded aprons and stepped box stretchers.
Chair: 39 3/4in (99.7cm) total high;
Seat frame: 20 1/4in x 23 5/8 x 18 1/2in (51.4 x 60 x 46.3cm) (2).
Footnotes
十七/十八世紀 黃花梨三接圈椅成對
Provenance:
Grace Wu Bruce, Hong Kong, 1 March 1996
來源：
香港嘉木堂（Grace Wu Bruce），1996年3月1日
This pair of horseshoe back armchairs exhibit a sophisticated, neat, and tidy design. A three-section crest rail is regarded as a finer construction because it requires larger pieces of wood than a five-section one. Rather than being s-curved, the backsplat and posts are gently bowed. The beaded spandrels are added in order to better support the crest rail. The unadorned and straight apron and flange brackets enhance the austere simplicity of the design. "The result is a chair whose aesthetic power derives from structural integrity rather than decorative detail." (Robert H. Ellsworth et al. Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection (New York, 1996), no. 16, p. 72. A similar pair of huanghuali horseshoe back armchairs, featuring the same design, was in the collection of Richard Fabian, sold at Sotheby's New York, 15 March 2016, lot 41.