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Lot Essay
Each stool is finely carved on the cusped, beaded apron with interlocking scrollwork. The stools are raised on elegant and attenuated cabriole legs terminating in delicate ruyi-form feet, joined by humpback stretchers fitted with vertical struts. Wang Shixiang illustrates three variations of the cabriole leg stool in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1990, vol. II, p. 24-6, pls. A23 and A25. The first variation, pl. A23, is the simplest in design, featuring the elegant cabriole leg joined by a humpback stretcher. The second variation, pl. A25, has legs with a more exaggerated curve and are supported by ‘giant's arm' braces, giving the stool a squatter appearance. The present pair is most similar to the third variation, pl. A24, with a more elaborately carved apron and vertical struts joining the humpback stretcher to the underside of the apron.
The use of the cabriole leg is an unusual and rare design feature infrequently seen on stools. There are few surviving examples remaining from the Ming period. This type of leg can be found on incense stands of circular form, such as the magnificent huanghuali three-legged circular incense stand sold at The Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy; Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 613. The number of variations of stools with cabriole legs suggest the vocabulary of form was fluid and judiciously applied by only the most talented of carpenters and renowned workshops, who had both the knowledge of this form and the skills to precisely carve the exacting curve required of the cabriole leg. For another stool variation in circular form, see a rare huanghuali circular stool with cabriole leg and footrail sold in Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2809.
A single 17th-century huanghuali stool, with slender cabriole legs and crisply beaded, cusped apron, was sold at The Flacks Family Collection: A Very Personal Selection; Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1137. See, also, a pair of cabriole leg huanghuali stools, formerly in the Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 948. A pair of Qing-dynasty huanghuali cabriole-leg stools with stiffer cabriole legs and ‘giant's arm’ braces was sold at Christie’s New York 23 March 2023, lot 1167.
The use of the cabriole leg is an unusual and rare design feature infrequently seen on stools. There are few surviving examples remaining from the Ming period. This type of leg can be found on incense stands of circular form, such as the magnificent huanghuali three-legged circular incense stand sold at The Marie Theresa L. Virata Collection of Asian Art: A Family Legacy; Christie’s New York, 16 March 2017, lot 613. The number of variations of stools with cabriole legs suggest the vocabulary of form was fluid and judiciously applied by only the most talented of carpenters and renowned workshops, who had both the knowledge of this form and the skills to precisely carve the exacting curve required of the cabriole leg. For another stool variation in circular form, see a rare huanghuali circular stool with cabriole leg and footrail sold in Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2809.
A single 17th-century huanghuali stool, with slender cabriole legs and crisply beaded, cusped apron, was sold at The Flacks Family Collection: A Very Personal Selection; Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1137. See, also, a pair of cabriole leg huanghuali stools, formerly in the Nancy and Ed Rosenthal Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2017, lot 948. A pair of Qing-dynasty huanghuali cabriole-leg stools with stiffer cabriole legs and ‘giant's arm’ braces was sold at Christie’s New York 23 March 2023, lot 1167.