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Lot Essay
The fluid, pronounced curved lines of the vertical spindles contrast elegantly with the straight lines of the back and arms, a juxtaposition which continues on the aprons with the carved angular scroll set within the curvilinear contours. This rare design is a variation on the more standard straight spindles more commonly found on low-back armchairs. The infrequent use of curved spindles in Chinese furniture of this period can almost certainly be accounted for by the large amount of timber as well as the high degree of workmanship that would have been required to produce them.
A slightly smaller single chair with closely related shaped spindles is illustrated by M. Flacks, Classical Chinese Furniture, London, 2011, pp. 38-39. The spindles on the single chair are set further apart and are fewer in number than on the present chairs. An elmwood meiguiyi with very similar spindles is illustrated and discussed by N. Berliner and S. Handler, Friends of the House: Chinese Furniture from China's Towns and Villages, Massachusetts, 1995, pp. 68-69, no. 16.
A slightly smaller single chair with closely related shaped spindles is illustrated by M. Flacks, Classical Chinese Furniture, London, 2011, pp. 38-39. The spindles on the single chair are set further apart and are fewer in number than on the present chairs. An elmwood meiguiyi with very similar spindles is illustrated and discussed by N. Berliner and S. Handler, Friends of the House: Chinese Furniture from China's Towns and Villages, Massachusetts, 1995, pp. 68-69, no. 16.