Lot 1561. A pair of zitan lowback armchairs, meiguiyi, 18th century; 28¾ in. (73 cm.) high, 22 in. (55.7 cm.) wide, 17 5/8 in. (44.7 cm.) deep. Estimate USD 30,000 - USD 50,000. Price realised USD 37,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013. 

Each has a straight toprail continuing through the rounded corners to the back posts. The straight, open back is framed on three sides by an inset, beaded apron and shaped spandrels. The straight arms continue down to form the front posts, which are joined by gallery rails at the back and sides enclosing the soft mat seat and supported by humpback stretchers. The legs are of round-section and are joined by stepped stretchers, each with a footrail above a plain apron.

Property from The Collection of Barney and Emma Dagan.

Note: The form of the present chairs is widely known, with several variants, ranging from those with straight lines, which are relatively unadorned, to elaborately carved examples, such as the pair of huanghuali chairs from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, illustrated by R.H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pp. 84-5, no. 22. However, perhaps the closest example to the present pair is the huanghuali chair in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Ming Qing Guting Jiaju Da Guan, Beijing, 2006, p. 125, no. 106, where it is dated to the Ming dynasty. The only difference between the two appears to be the addition of shaped aprons beneath the arm rails on the Palace Museum example, which are absent on the present pair.