LATE QING DYNASTY

Details

A RARE AND UNUSUAL LOW ZITAN ARMCHAIR
LATE QING DYNASTY
The S-shaped splat terminating in a coiled scroll and carved with a winged stylized taotie mask suspending a chime and tassels, flanked by stepped back rails and arm rails, both with archaistic scroll-form aprons, above the soft mat seat woven with a faint wan fret, the front of the frame carved with two shaped reserves enclosing interlocked scroll, above a narrow waist with pairs of elongated, rounded bosses and shaped, beaded aprons carved with archaistic scroll, all supported on inward-curved, beaded legs terminating in hoof feet
35½ in. (89 cm.) high, 32 in. (81.3 cm.) wide, 24 in. (61 cm.) deep

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Lot Essay

The present armchair is unusual in that it is significantly lower and wider than a standard Qing dynasty armchair, and more closely resembles a small throne. This type of variation appears more frequently on furniture of the late Ming dynasty, as evidenced by two armchairs in the Palace Museum, illustrated in Ming Qing Guting Jiaju Da Guan, Beijing, 2006, nos. 71 and 73. However, the decoration found on the present chair is more typical of mid-late Qing dynasty style. Compare the closely related decoration seen on the splat of a middle Qing dynasty zitan armchair, illustrated ibid., no. 88. Note the similarity in carving and subject matter, with a bat suspending a tasseled chime, a design repeated frequently on furniture throughout the Qing dynasty.

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