Lot Essay
Carved throne chairs are still used to carry Buddhist or Daoist deities during religious ceremonies. See the throne chair used to carry the Tin Hau goddess at the Tin Hau at High Island, Sai Kung, Hong Kong, illustrated in an article by Patricia Young, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, October 18, 1994, p. 3. A similar example is depicted in a series of paintings by the Qianlong period court painter, Yao Wenhan, called the ''Eighteen Lohans'', illustrated by Ge Wanzhang, ''Introduction to the Deities of Tibetan Lamaism'', The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, no. 47, p. 124. The presence of dragons lend the chair a throne-like status while the ducks, lotus and qilin suggest the chair was used during wedding ceremonies
Compare the related mirror stand with dragons and openwork in a similar style from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, sold in these rooms Septemeber 19, 1996, lot 56. See, also, the mirror stand in the Honolulu Academy of Arts illustrated by Robert Ellsworth in Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, p. 64, no. 46. Another was included in the exhibition of the the Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, and illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in the Catalogue, pp. 160-161, no. 67
Compare the related mirror stand with dragons and openwork in a similar style from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, sold in these rooms Septemeber 19, 1996, lot 56. See, also, the mirror stand in the Honolulu Academy of Arts illustrated by Robert Ellsworth in Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, p. 64, no. 46. Another was included in the exhibition of the the Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, and illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in the Catalogue, pp. 160-161, no. 67