Lot 947. A very rare pair of zitan continuous horseshoe-back armchairs, quanyi, 18th century. Estimate USD 300,000 - USD 500,000. Price realised USD 792,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2017

Each has a sweeping crestrail supported on an S-shaped backsplat and vertical rear and front posts which continue through the rectangular seat to form the legs, above humpback stretchers fitted with vertical struts. The legs are of round section and are joined by stepped stretchers and a foot rest at the front.35 ¼ in. (89.6 cm.) high, 25 1/8 in. (63.8 cm.) wide, 22 ½ in. (57.2 cm.) deep

Provenance: Chan Shing Kee, Hong Kong, November 1994.

Property of the Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection

Literature: V. Bower, S. Handler and J. Burris, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, 2008, p. 48, fig. 19.

Exhibited: Cincinnati, Taft Museum of Art, Brush Clay Wood: The Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection of Chinese Art, 7 November 2008 - 11 January 2009.

Note: While examples of horseshoe-back armchairs are readily known, one of the rarest variations of the form is the continuous rail horseshoe-back armchair. The design of these very rare chairs was inspired by bamboo furniture. The elegantly shaped crestrail and rounded members were carved to simulate the bamboo furniture construction technique of bending long stalks of bamboo using steam or heat. The abundance of bamboo made it popular among the lower classes, as a cost-effective and more easily portable alternative to the more luxurious hardwoodfurniture. Known bamboo-inspired examples in huanghuali include a pair formerly in the Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 47 and a single example formerly in the Flacks Family Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1105 and illustrated by M. Flacks in Classical Chinese Furniture: A Very Personal Point of View, London, 2011, pp. 59-63.

A very rare pair of huanghuali bamboo-form continuous horseshoe-back armchairs, quanyi, China, Late Ming-Early Qing dynasty, 17th-early 18th century, the Collection of Robert H. Ellsworth. Sold for USD 2,629,000 at Christie’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 47. © Christie's Images Ltd 2015

A rare large huanghuali continuous horseshoe-back armchair, quanyi, 17th-18th century in the Flacks Family Collection. Sold for USD 869,000 at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1105. © Christie's Images Ltd 2016