Lot 874. A pair of huanghuali 'southern official's hat' armchairs, nanguanmaoyi, 17th-18th century; 45 in. (114.3 cm.) high, 23 ¼ in. (59 cm.) wide, 18 in. (45.7 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 150,000 - USD 250,000. Price realised USD 162,500. © Christie's Image Ltd 2019.

Each has a curved crestrail supported on curved rear posts and an S-shaped splat. The arm rails are supported on slender standing stiles that terminate in the front posts above the soft mat seat and cusped, beaded aprons and plain, beaded spandrels. The whole is supported on round-section legs, joined by a foot rest at the front and stepped stretchers.

Note: The 'southern official's hat' armchair is one of the most popular forms in Chinese furniture construction. They differ from the 'official's hat' armchair in that their crestrails continue into the back posts as opposed to extending beyond them. The continuous line of the crestrail joining into the rear upright posts is achieved with a rounded, right angle joint called a 'pipe-joint,' which is again used to join the curved arms to the front upright posts. A pair of huanghuali ‘southern official’s hat’ armchairs of similar proportions with shaped aprons and spandrels, dated to the early 17th century, is in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, illustrated by R. Jacobsen and N. Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 52-53. Another pair of huanghuali ‘southern official’s hat’ armchairs, of similar proportions, and finely inlaid with nanmu roundels enclosing a curled chilong was sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2012, lot 1735. 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 13 September 2019