A large 'huanghuali' 'dragon' meditation chair, Qing dynasty | 清 黃花梨雕雲龍紋禪椅

By family repute, acquired by the great grand uncle of the present owner who was an ecclesiastic in China, ca. 1910, and thence by descent.

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據傳現藏家之叔公得，約1910年於中國任神職人員，此後家族傳承

The five panels on the back rest and sides are each carved with a four-clawed dragon in archaizing form, conveying the 'Five Blessings (wufu)' of old age, wealth, health, virtue, and peaceful passing away. Even though zitan wood was popular at the Qing court, huanghuali furniture was equally in use, as is suggested by a huojidang (Qing Imperial Household Archive) record dated the 43rd year of Qianlong (1778) that mentions that a 'throne chair made of huali wood' was presented to the Qianlong Emperor and was waiting for its location to be determined.

Compare to a related throne with similar curling legs, also carved with five dragons, but with a single back panel carved in openwork, illustrated in Hu Desheng, A Treasury of Ming & Qing Dynastya Palace Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2007, pl. 83; and another similar example with elaborate openwork carving, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1652.