A pair of huanghuali yokeback armchairs (sichutou guanmaoyi), 17th century. Photo courtesy Sotheby's

each with an elegantly scrolling crestrail terminating in truncated ends, joined to slender curved stiles and a wide S-curved rectangular splat, the serpentine outline arms recessed with the truncated ends continuing, supported by shaped brackets, and with a curved brace joined to the molded hard-matted seat frame above a shaped and beaded apron, all resting on cylindrical legs joined by four ascending stretchers, the underside with two transverse stretchers (2). Height 43 1/2  in., 110.5 cm; Width 24 1/2  in., 62.2 cm; Depth 18 1/4  in., 46.3 cm. Estimate 90,000 — 120,000 USD

Provenance: Ming Furniture Ltd, Boca Raton, Florida, 1989.

Note: The present pair of yokeback armchairs, predominantly plain with circular members of consistent thickness and truncated outscrolled ends, focuses the eye not only on the dramatic figuring of the grain but on the balance of the form; the curvilinear and rectilinear elements in juxtaposition with the ample use of negative space. This form is generally more comfortable and more extravagant in its use of wood than the straight or C-curved examples. This type of large yokeback armchair is one of the core elements of the classic Chinese furniture vernacular and many examples are preserved in major museums and private collections. For a general discussion on the basic model and decorative vocabulary of these chairs see Curtis Evarts, 'From Ornate to Unadorned', Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp. 24-33. A

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. New York | 17 Sep 2013 - http://www.sothebys.com