Lot 16. A pair of 'huanghuali' 'Official's Hat' yokeback armchairs (Sichutou Guanmaoyi), Late Ming dynasty, 17th century. Height 117.1 cm; width 58.5 cm; depth 49.6 cm. Lot Sold 473,600 USD (Estimate 60,000 - 80,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 1986.
 

Exhibited: Inaugural Exhibition Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 1986, cat. no. 43.
 

Note: Of luminous huanghuali wood of the highest quality, the present pair of chairs represent a particularly rare variation of the beloved sichutou guanmaoyi (‘four protrusions official’s hat chair’) design. Also known as ‘Northern official’s hat’ chairs— in contrast to ‘southern’ counterparts in which the members do not protrude— the present design possesses a sense of movement and grandeur unique to its design in which the curve of the backsplat is generously mirrored in the curving of the top-rail as it meets the neck and the arms as they gently caress the sides.

While the present pair are in many ways classical examples of their type, with generous curves and exceptional wood quality, they also possess a few more atypical features, particularly the carved ruyi cloud designs to the backsplats and classical scrollwork to the aprons. Carved designs of this type, which further accentuate the curves of the form and possess auspicious meanings (the ruyi associated with wish-granting and longevity), are rarely found on chairs of this type. Compare a closely related chair of almost identical backsplat and apron design from the personal collection of Wang Shixiang (1914-2009), illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture. Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1986, pl. 46, alongside a southern official’s hat armchair of related ruyi backsplat and apron scroll pl. 48. Also compare a related pair of plain backsplat and more geometric apron design sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th April 2024, lot 3679; and another pair of more florid openwork backsplats and apron design in the Nelson from the Canton Collection of Ronald Poon, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 16th October 2024, lot 818.

Lot 53. A pair of 'huanghuali' yokeback armchairs (Sichutou Guanmaoyi), 17th century. Height 112.7 cm; width 59.7 cm; depth 51.8 cm. Lot Sold 102,400 USD (Estimate 150,000 - 250,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: Collection of the Lieu Family, Beijing (by repute).
Belgian Private Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 144.
 

Note: Exuding a sense of power and testifying to the grandeur of their owner, the present chairs are classic examples of the iconic ‘Northern official's hat’ design (bei guanmaoyi) which rose to prominence during the Ming dynasty. Also known as sichutou guanmaoyi (‘four protrusions official’s hat chairs’), due to their extended top rail and arm rests, the form affords the chairs a commanding presence that seems to emanate through a room. The curve of the top rail imitated in the arms, supports and the subtle beaded apron, the present pair demonstrate the craftsman’s magnificent sense of balance and understanding of form.

Chairs of this design, while perfected in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, appear to have derived from related earlier forms. Consider a chair depicted in Wang Qihan's Kanshu Tu [Picture of book proofreading] from the Southern Tang state (937–976) of the Five Dynasties which bears a remarkable resemblance to the present form. For other classical examples from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, compare a pair of closely related design (bar decoration to the aprons), sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th April 2024, lot 3679; another pair sold in these rooms, 18th and 19th March 2014, lot 419; and a third, sold from the collection of St. Matthias Church, British Columbia, in these rooms, 11th and 12th September 2012, lot 218.

Lot 54. A 'huanghuali' recessed-leg table (Pingtou'an), 17th century. Height 83.8 cm; width 171.5 cm; depth 51.8 cm. Lot Sold 83,200 USD (Estimate 80,000 - 120,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: Collection of Oscar (1918-2002) and Camille (1917-2002) Armstrong, acquired in Beijing between 1947 and 1949.
Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 132.
 

Note: Also known by the moniker yi zi zhuo (‘character one table’) after its resemblance to the dramatic horizontal stroke of the numeral yi (一), the present table is among the most beloved and versatile of the classical Chinese forms. Tables of this design are traditionally associated with painting due to their comfortable height and large surface area. Left undecorated with nothing to distract from the beautiful color and marbling of the large huanghuali panels, the present table is a masterful example of its type with a single large panel of excellent wood quality.

For other tables of this design, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1990, pl. B81 and a painting table illustrated in Grace Wu Bruce, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood, The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991, cat. no. 22 and sold in our Hong Kong rooms 7th October 2015, lot 130. See also another similar example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p. 46.

Lot 52. A 'huanghuali' waisted side table (Tiaozhuo), 17th-18th century. Height 82.9 cm; width 131.4 cm; depth 47 cm. Lot Sold 48,640 USD (Estimate 60,000 - 80,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 147.
 

Note: The present table represents a rare example of a waisted design that features ‘giant’s arm’ braces in place of more typical humpback stretchers. Strengthening the construction to support its long elegant legs, this solution leaves the overall form of the table unrestricted and lends the design a palpable lightness.

Comparable examples of this elegant design variation are rare, particularly those featuring large single-board tabletops. Compare a similar example of this design included in Sarah Handler, Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture, London, 2001, p. 190, fig. 12.10; another sold at Christie’s New York, 16th March 2017, lot 605; another slightly smaller example sold at Bonhams New York, 19th June 2012, lot 6212; and another smaller example with a more raised tabletop sold at Bonhams London, 16th May 2019, lot 79.

Lot 50. A rare burlwood-inset 'zitan' waisted side table (Tiaozhuo), Qing dynasty, 18th century. Height 86.7 cm; width 128 cm; depth 35.9 cm. Lot Sold 115,200 USD (Estimate 100,000 - 150,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 150
 

Note: Deeply and ornately carved from the finest quality zitan timber, the present table is undoubtedly from the Qing imperial workshops of the eighteenth century. With auspicious imagery of bats over waves, representing long-lasting fortune and longevity, the table is inset with beautifully figured burlwood at the top panel, and further embellished with rare incised metal mounts at the corners of the frame, waist, and legs.

Examples of burl-inset waisted zitan side tables with metal corner mounts in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing include one with kui dragons carved to the aprons and another with fish and acanthus leaves at the aprons, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasty, vol. II, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 109, pl. 97 and p. 124, pl. 109, respectively; neither table, however, displays the finesse of carving found on the present example. Indeed, in contrast to the Palace examples, which are mostly carved on secondary aprons tenoned in to the supporting aprons, the present example is deeply carved in the negative on the supporting aprons themselves. Such artistry required much more panache, as much more wastage of precious zitan was required and any mistake meant the loss of the whole apron. The effervescence of carving is carried into the waves of the spandrels at each corner of the leg, creating a harmonious motif across the whole table.

Compare the present example with a slightly larger imperial zitan side table, carved with floral motifs instead of ‘bats over waves’ and lacking the inset-burlwood and metal mounts, sold in these rooms, 15th September 2010, lot 352.

Lot 77. A pair of 'zitan' pedestal tables, Qing dynasty, 19th century. Height 61 cm; width 57 cm; depth 37.7 cm. Lot Sold 12,800 USD (Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026

Lot 57. A pair of large 'huanghuali' yokeback armchairs (Sichutou Guanmaoyi), 20th century. Height 119.4 cm; width 68.6 cm; depth 55.2 cm. Lot Sold 12,800 USD (Estimate 6,000 - 8,000 USD) © Sotheby's 2026
 

Provenance: Collection of Nelson A. Rockefeller (1908-1979) (by repute).
Canadian Private Collection.
Sotheby's New York, 22nd March 2001, lot 149.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, New York, 24 August-16 September 2026