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Lot Essay
Because it was costly and only grew to a small diameter, wumu, or ebony, was rarely used as a structural material in Chinese furniture, but rather as a decorative element. This is seen, for example, in the four-shelf huanghuali bookcase with wumu railings illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, p. 122, no. 57, later sold by Christie's, New York, 19 September 1996, lot 80.
The present chair, which combines wumu for the framework of the splat and the equally prized huanghuali for the structural elements, ranks as a fine example of the subtle way skilled carpenters would combine rare materials and high quality carving and craftsmanship to create a most pleasing aesthetic. This combination can also be found on a huanghuali and wumu meiguiyi in the present sale (lot 2024).
The present chair, which combines wumu for the framework of the splat and the equally prized huanghuali for the structural elements, ranks as a fine example of the subtle way skilled carpenters would combine rare materials and high quality carving and craftsmanship to create a most pleasing aesthetic. This combination can also be found on a huanghuali and wumu meiguiyi in the present sale (lot 2024).