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Lot Essay
The 'southern official's hat' armchair is one of the most popular forms in Chinese furniture construction. They differ from the 'official's hat' armchair in that their crest rails continue into the back rails as opposed to extending beyond them.
The tripartite back splat, which often incorporates a central decorative panel featuring an exquisitely carved or left undecorated to highlight the beautiful grain of the wood, appears to be a common feature in the late Ming period. The present pair of arm chairs is a great example of the type featuring an exquisitely carved chilong panels at the center in contrast with the elegantly pierced or arched huanghuali panels above and below.
A related pair of huanghuali and nanmu 'southern official’s hat' armchairs of similar proportions and dated to the Yongzheng period, was illustrated by R. H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture: One Hundred and Three Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 2005, p.37, no.13, and subsequently sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1933.
The tripartite back splat, which often incorporates a central decorative panel featuring an exquisitely carved or left undecorated to highlight the beautiful grain of the wood, appears to be a common feature in the late Ming period. The present pair of arm chairs is a great example of the type featuring an exquisitely carved chilong panels at the center in contrast with the elegantly pierced or arched huanghuali panels above and below.
A related pair of huanghuali and nanmu 'southern official’s hat' armchairs of similar proportions and dated to the Yongzheng period, was illustrated by R. H. Ellsworth in Chinese Furniture: One Hundred and Three Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 2005, p.37, no.13, and subsequently sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2009, lot 1933.