Lot 1113. A rare pair of huanghuali 'Four-corners exposed official's hat' armchairs, sichutouguanmaoyi, 17th-18th century; 46 5/8 in. (118.7 cm) high, 23 5/8 in. (60 cm.) wide, 17¼ in. (43.8 cm) deep. Estimate USD 150,000 - USD 200,000. Price realised USD 317,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

Each has a curved, protruding crest rail supported on an S-shaped splat and elegantly curved rear posts, which continue to form the rear legs. The curved arm rails are supported on elegant, curved spindles and tapering vertical stiles and extend beyond the front posts, which continue through the rectangular frame and form the front legs. The rectangular frame encloses a soft mat seat above plain aprons and spandrels. The legs are joined by stepped stretchers and a footrest with shaped apron.

Provenance: Christie’s, New York, 1 December 1983, lot 863.
Nicholas Grindley, London.

Note: The 'four corners-exposed' armchair is one of the earliest and classic forms found in huanghuali furniture design. A number of variations on this type are known, including those with rounded or squared members, those with carved splats, or those with added decorative carving or embellishment. See a similarly proportioned 'four corner's- exposed official's hat' armchair with carving on the apron below the seat and dated to the late sixteenth-early seventeenth century illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, Honolulu Academy of the Arts, 16 January - 14 February 1982, p. 42, no. 9.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza