17TH-18TH CENTURY

With the top rail resembling the winged hat that was part of the formal attire of the officials, these chairs are generally called guanmaoyi or ‘official's hat-shaped chairs’. Made of dense zitan wood, the present pair of chairs is a classic sample of simplicity and elegance. Tenoned into the underside of the yoke are rear posts that sweep back and inward and continue through the seat rail to form the back legs. The elegantly tapering profile of these chairs rises to a crestrail set with a thick molded headrest between flared upturned terminals that swing out in a lively curve. The S-curved arms terminate in handrests that are supported by curvilinear spandrels. Drilled for soft seat construction, it has a recessed hard mat set supported by a transverse stretcher underneath. The legs in front are joined by a shaped footrest with a plain apron underneath, there are similar aprons on the sides while the back is plain and high.The projecting crest rail and handgrips, literally ‘four projections’, which is in fact a pun on scholar gaining recognition. It is extremely rare to find a pair of Ming style zitan armchair in surviving examples, compare to a larger example, illustrated by My Humble House, ‘Zitan The most Noble hardwood’, Taipei,1996, p.34, which was sold at The Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy, Christie's New York, 16 March 2017, lot 640.