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Lot Essay
Two miniature examples of yoke-back chairs, similar in construction to the full-sized examples, were excavated in 1960 from the tomb of Pan Yunzheng (1589).
Examples of continuous yoke-back chairs vary in size. Among the largest examples of this form (128 cm. high) is a pair of chairs with shaped aprons in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 52-53, no. 9.
By the late Ming, the trend was towards an aesthetic of simplicity and plain, subtle and graceful forms were generally favoured over ornateness. The present pair of chairs embodies this search for simplicity with the beauty and elegance of the chairs found in the sweeping curves of the members and subtle variations in the grain of the wood.
Examples of continuous yoke-back chairs vary in size. Among the largest examples of this form (128 cm. high) is a pair of chairs with shaped aprons in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, illustrated in Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp. 52-53, no. 9.
By the late Ming, the trend was towards an aesthetic of simplicity and plain, subtle and graceful forms were generally favoured over ornateness. The present pair of chairs embodies this search for simplicity with the beauty and elegance of the chairs found in the sweeping curves of the members and subtle variations in the grain of the wood.