QING DYNASTY, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

The bold and exceptional huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchair is identical in design to an example exhibited and published by N. Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Boston, 1996, p. 106-109, no. 9 (fig. 1) and a second example sold at Sotheby’s New York, 23 September 1997, lot 481. Square members accentuate the strong, architectural lines and when paired with the broad, curved back splat amplifies its sense of grandeur. Robust in construction, the chair is raised on a stool-like base with powerful incurved legs terminating in scroll-form feet, which are reinforced with ‘giant’s arm’ braces under the seat. A stone-inset huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchair with similar high waist and ‘giant’s arm’ braces construction forming the seat was sold at Rich Golden Hues and Graceful Forms – Classical Chinese Furniture from the Tseng Collection, Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 November 2022, lot 2811.

This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.