Lot Essay
Easily transportable and less formal than armchairs, side chairs would have been made in sets and placed against the wall, making them easily accessible when required yet slim enough in profile to prevent overcrowding of an interior space. Ming-dynasty prints frequently depict side chairs used in a variety of settings, including private rooms, landscaped gardens, and formal reception spaces.
The presence of humpback stretchers and struts below the seat on the present pair is an elegant variant from the more commonly seen plain apron and spandrels. A huanghuali side chair, constructed with humpback stretchers and vertical struts below these at with a C-form plain back splat, is illustrated by R. H. Ellsworth in Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, Honolulu, 1982, p. 57, pl. 36,where it is dated to the 17th century.
The presence of humpback stretchers and struts below the seat on the present pair is an elegant variant from the more commonly seen plain apron and spandrels. A huanghuali side chair, constructed with humpback stretchers and vertical struts below these at with a C-form plain back splat, is illustrated by R. H. Ellsworth in Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, Honolulu, 1982, p. 57, pl. 36,where it is dated to the 17th century.