18TH CENTURY

An identical pair of red lacquer armchairs is currently in the Minneapolis Institute of Art and illustrated by R. Jacobsen and N. Grindley in Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago, 1999, pp. 74-5, pl. 19, where it is dated to the late eighteenth century. The more elaborate scrolling elements and luxurious use of gilt painted decoration reflects the changing tastes of the Qianlong emperor away from the more restrained Ming-period furniture.

Another similarly dated lacquer armchair sold at Sotheby's London, 17 October 1978, lot 243, and is illustrated by M. Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, Tokyo/New York/San Francisco, 1983, p. 189.