17TH-18TH CENTURY

There are two types of rose chairs or meiguiyi. The most commonly seen type has an open back and arms framed by carved corner spandrels. The second, rarer type has a crestrail supported by a back splat. Rose chairs with back splats tend to be elaborate in their decoration, and with its distinctive, vase-form splat and openwork trellis pattern below the seat, the present pair are no exception. An identical pair measuring 96.5 cm. high is illustrated in N. Grindley, The Yunwai Lou Collection of Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 2013, no. 33. A pair of huanghuali low-back side chairs, fitted with the same beaded, vase-form splat but with solid aprons and spandrels below the seat was sold at Christie’s New York, 13 September 2019, lot 871. Such a distinctive design of the splat suggests these chairs could have been part of a special commission for a larger suite of furniture.