Lot Essay
A comparable horseshoeback chair with continuous arms and humped apron stretchers, but lacking the sinuous side posts and with an uncarved splat, is illustrated by Robert Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture, fig. 19-19b. Another is illustrated by Gustav Ecke, Chinese Domestic Furniture, p. 106, fig. 85. Compare, also, the set of four marble-inset examples illustrated by Wang, et al., Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, p. 62, no. 29 and sold in these rooms September 19, 1996, lot 38
The exceptionally curvaceous character of these chairs is achieved through the outwardly bulging lines of the rear posts as well as the side struts supporting the arms. The splats have been cut in series from the same timber, confirming the relationship of the chairs as a pair
The exceptionally curvaceous character of these chairs is achieved through the outwardly bulging lines of the rear posts as well as the side struts supporting the arms. The splats have been cut in series from the same timber, confirming the relationship of the chairs as a pair