A PAIR OF CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ARMCHAIRS (NANGUANMAOYI) QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

each with the square sectioned crestrail gently arched, flattened at the center headrest and carved with a large lotus bloom issuing tendrils, the bowed corner posts centered by a wide S-shaped rectangular splat, the upper section of one decorated with a panel of a pair of ducks paddling among lotus, the other with a pair of song birds perched on a bough, surmounting a quiet scene depicting a scholar and attendant, on one journeying through a mountainous landscape, on the other seated in a garden, all above a small inset shaped panel, the sinuous arms each with a single phoenix supported by curved stiles, the seat with an intricate brocade pattern, all supported on four square-sectioned legs carved with shou characters flanking double ruyi-head reserves and joined by four stepped stretchers, the front rail further strengthened with an arched stretcher beneath, the back and undersides finished in black lacquer (2)

A nearly identical pair of chairs sold at Christie's New York, 26th March 2003, lot 136. The resemblance is sufficiently close to surmise that they may well be from the same set. The fine carving and use of an intricate brocade pattern has precedent. Whilst there are no published examples of similar chairs, there is a Qianlong period rectangular table with a wan character brocade top from the Qing court collection illustrated by Hu Desheng, A Treasury of Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture,vol. 1, Beijing, 2007, p. 213.