Lot 41. A pair of huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs (quanyi), Qing dynasty, 18th century. Estimation 80,000 — 120,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

each with curving three-segment toprail sloping down to the arms supported on bowed side posts and terminating in outscrolled handgrips beyond the straight front posts set with shaped spandrels, the wide splat gently bowed, flanked by bracketed back corner posts continuing through the rectangular molded-edge frame, to form the back legs, the hard mat set above plain beaded spandreled aprons, the cylindrical legs joined by a front rail and square section stretchers of ascending height (2). Height 39 in., 99.1 cm; Width 26 in., 66 cm; Depth 19 in., 48.3 cm

Note: The present pair of chairs is notable for the lack of carved decoration on the splat, with most examples carved with a stylized cloud-form medallion, and the equally austere treatment of the apron and long flange brackets. Additionally the flange brackets to either side of the back posts are an unusual feature and one that would have been an effective means to reinforce the vulnerable scarf joint of the wide bending toprail. For a discussion on this design, see Robert Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, New York, 1970, pp. 86-87, and Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 43-45. 

Sotheby's. The Reverend Richard Fabian Collection of Chinese Classical Furniture, New York, 15 mars 2016, 10:00 AM