Lot 3020. A pair of huanghuali 'southern officials hat' armchairs, nanguanmaoyi, Ming dynasty, 17th century; 45 1⁄8 in. (114.5 cm high), 23 1⁄4 in. (59 cm) wide, 17 7⁄8 in. (45.5 cm) deep. Price realised HKD 3,250,000 (Estimate HKD 2,000,000 - HKD 3,000,000). © Christie's 2021
Each chair has a crest rail supported on curved rear posts and a S-shaped splat with unusual beaded spandrels where the crest rail meets the rear posts. The arm rails are supported on slender, tapering standing stiles terminating in the front posts above the arched and beaded apron, all resting on rounded-square legs joined by stretchers below the footrest.
Note: The ‘southern official's hat’ armchair differs from the official's hat armchair in that its crest rail continues into the back rails as opposed to extending beyond them. Compare the present pair to a very similar nanguanmaoyi, sold at Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1202, also with the added unusual feature of spandrels beneath the crest rail and below the arms. A chair of this type is also illustrated by Sarah Handler in Ming Furniture in the Light of Chinese Architecture, Berkeley, 2005, p. 117.
Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 3 Dec 2021
