17TH CENTURY

The 'four corners-exposed' armchair is one of the earliest and classic forms found in huanghuali furniture design. The elegant lines and grand proportions of the present chair are especially attractive. A number of variations on this type are known, including those with rounded or squared members, those with carved splats, and those with added decorative carving or embellishment. A similar example dated to the 17th century, and also with arm rails supported on single, curved, tapering, vertical stiles is illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Curtis Evarts, Masterpieces From the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, p. 48. A similarly proportioned chair was sold at Christie's New York, The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part I: Masterworks: Including Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art, 17 March 2015, lot 50.