- 32
A RARE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI AND HUAMU ‘FU’ CHARACTER YOKEBACK ARMCHAIRS (SICHUTOUGUANMAOYI) MING DYNASTY, 16TH / 17TH CENTURY
Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- Wood
- Height 46 1/4 in; Width 25 1/4 in; Depth 19 in
each with a wide scrolling crestrail with flattened head rest and rounded terminals, set on cylindrical strongly bowed back posts continuing through the seat frame to form the back legs, the wide backsplat in tripartite form flanked by beaded barbed and cusped long flange brackets, the splat with an upper squared panel pierced with a stylized fu character in grooved fretwork set within a molded frame, a central rectangular panel of nanmu burlwood, above an arched apron with beading, the armrails terminating in rounded outscrolled handgrips set on strongly 'goose-neck' shaped braces and supporting struts of mock-bamboo issuing from a pear-shaped vase, the hard mat seat within a rectangular frame with rounded sides tapering to a beaded edge, the slightly splayed legs joined by cusped aprons with beaded edge continuing to long barbed and beaded flange brackets, the side stretchers set higher than the foot and back rails, the side and front stretchers with shaped aprons (2)
Provenance
Acquired from a Connecticut antiques dealer in the 1970s.
Condition
One crestrail with filled repairs to a break. There are other filled splits and consolidation to the joinery and one of the stretcher aprons appears to be replaced. The other chair has similar filled repairs and consolidation of loose joinery. In addition, the shaped bracket to one side of the splat appears to be a replacement as does one of the turned 'bamboo vase' stiles supporting the arm. The chairs have been had some sun exposure and are a bit pale and dry in sections.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
AN AUSPICIOUS GATHERING
The present two pairs of armchairs (lots 31 and 32) exemplify the very best of a particularly distinguished and distinctive type. The chairs of this much-studied and admired group are renowned for their generous proportions, varied textures, ingenious juxtaposition of positive and negative space, and the crisp undulating lines of the strongly shaped aprons and supports. The successful production of this ambitious combination of disparate decorative techniques and media required the highest skill level. Among the few known published examples that remain of this early group, there are some slight variations in size and decoration but all are united in the relatively flat outline of the ‘yoke’ toprail, the flanged splat enclosing an openwork fu-character silhouette, the burlwood central panel, the turned vase-and-bamboo arm support and the scrolling aprons with an accentuated barb projecting out towards the base.
To date, there are eleven armchairs of this form known. Four, from the collection of the Reverend Richard Fabian, comprised of two pairs, are included in this sale, lots 31 and 32. There is only other known pair; formerly from the collection of John Alex McCone, and sold in these rooms 3rd June 1992, lot 348. This pair, now in an American private collection, has huanghuali panels in the center of the splat replacing the burlwood originals. A single armchair from the Hung collection is illustrated in Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Nicholas Grindley and Anita Christy, Chinese Furniture, One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pl. 10. Another armchair from this group, slightly reduced in height, is in the collection of Peter Fung in Hong Kong and illustrated in Curtis Evarts, A Leisurely Pursuit, Splendid Hardwood Antiquities from the Liang Yi Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 10. Another single armchair was sold in these rooms, 19th March 2007, lot 305 and, now in a private collection. An armchair, from the Cheney Cowles collection in Seattle, Washington is illustrated in Curtis Evarts, ‘From Ornate to Unadorned: A Study of Yokeback Chairs’, The Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp. 24-33, fig. 3. Another armchair of this group, in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, has variation in the fu character. Initially from a Los Angeles collection, the splat had a white marble replacement panel which has now been correctly restored with a burlwood panel. The armchair is illustrated in Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pl. 9. The authors state that the armchair reputedly was found in the Daitoku-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Finally, a pair of side chairs from this group from the Robert H. Ellsworth collection is illustrated in Robert H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch’ing Dynasties, New York, 1970, pl. 22. The pair is lacking the openwork fu characters but the outline of their presence is visible when examining the chairs.
Curtis Evarts delves into this group in depth in ‘From Ornate to Unadorned: A Study of Yokeback Chairs’, The Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Spring, 1993, pp. 24-33. He cites nineteen examples but his criteria are broader including chairs with plain splats and others that appear to be possibly of a later date. If the definition is limited to the precise features so beautifully exemplified in the present pairs, it is clear that the chairs emerged from the same workshop and were done within a relatively short period of time. The author also discusses the felicitous symbolic meaning of the chairs. The prominent fu character conveys a wish for happiness but there is a more subtle rebus contained within the bamboo-vase support zhubao pingan (virtue brings peace). The combined wish for enduring happiness and peace would have made the gift of a pair of these particular chairs ideal for a newly married couple. The archaism of the design serves to deepen the auspicious symbolism by referencing previous generations and the traditional value of looking back to the past in order to successfully navigate the future.
The present two pairs of armchairs (lots 31 and 32) exemplify the very best of a particularly distinguished and distinctive type. The chairs of this much-studied and admired group are renowned for their generous proportions, varied textures, ingenious juxtaposition of positive and negative space, and the crisp undulating lines of the strongly shaped aprons and supports. The successful production of this ambitious combination of disparate decorative techniques and media required the highest skill level. Among the few known published examples that remain of this early group, there are some slight variations in size and decoration but all are united in the relatively flat outline of the ‘yoke’ toprail, the flanged splat enclosing an openwork fu-character silhouette, the burlwood central panel, the turned vase-and-bamboo arm support and the scrolling aprons with an accentuated barb projecting out towards the base.
To date, there are eleven armchairs of this form known. Four, from the collection of the Reverend Richard Fabian, comprised of two pairs, are included in this sale, lots 31 and 32. There is only other known pair; formerly from the collection of John Alex McCone, and sold in these rooms 3rd June 1992, lot 348. This pair, now in an American private collection, has huanghuali panels in the center of the splat replacing the burlwood originals. A single armchair from the Hung collection is illustrated in Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Nicholas Grindley and Anita Christy, Chinese Furniture, One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, pl. 10. Another armchair from this group, slightly reduced in height, is in the collection of Peter Fung in Hong Kong and illustrated in Curtis Evarts, A Leisurely Pursuit, Splendid Hardwood Antiquities from the Liang Yi Collection, Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 10. Another single armchair was sold in these rooms, 19th March 2007, lot 305 and, now in a private collection. An armchair, from the Cheney Cowles collection in Seattle, Washington is illustrated in Curtis Evarts, ‘From Ornate to Unadorned: A Study of Yokeback Chairs’, The Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp. 24-33, fig. 3. Another armchair of this group, in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, has variation in the fu character. Initially from a Los Angeles collection, the splat had a white marble replacement panel which has now been correctly restored with a burlwood panel. The armchair is illustrated in Robert D. Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pl. 9. The authors state that the armchair reputedly was found in the Daitoku-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan.
Finally, a pair of side chairs from this group from the Robert H. Ellsworth collection is illustrated in Robert H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch’ing Dynasties, New York, 1970, pl. 22. The pair is lacking the openwork fu characters but the outline of their presence is visible when examining the chairs.
Curtis Evarts delves into this group in depth in ‘From Ornate to Unadorned: A Study of Yokeback Chairs’, The Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society, Spring, 1993, pp. 24-33. He cites nineteen examples but his criteria are broader including chairs with plain splats and others that appear to be possibly of a later date. If the definition is limited to the precise features so beautifully exemplified in the present pairs, it is clear that the chairs emerged from the same workshop and were done within a relatively short period of time. The author also discusses the felicitous symbolic meaning of the chairs. The prominent fu character conveys a wish for happiness but there is a more subtle rebus contained within the bamboo-vase support zhubao pingan (virtue brings peace). The combined wish for enduring happiness and peace would have made the gift of a pair of these particular chairs ideal for a newly married couple. The archaism of the design serves to deepen the auspicious symbolism by referencing previous generations and the traditional value of looking back to the past in order to successfully navigate the future.