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拍品專文
Hexagonal chairs appear to be a variant on the more commonly seen rectangular low-back armchairs, meiguiyi, also known as a ‘rose’ chair. This type of chair was popular in the Ming dynasty for its light construction and elegant appearance. Extant examples of hexagonal low-back armchairs are very rare, though evidence for this form exists in woodblock prints and paintings. One scroll from the set of twelve hanging scrolls from the Twelve Beautifies in the Yuanmingyuan dated to the Kangxi period, 1709-1723, depicts an elegant lady seated in a spotted bamboo hexagonal low-back chair while viewing antiques placed on a gilt-lacquer table (fig. 1). Similar to the present example, the spotted bamboo-hexagonal chair is also constructed with vertical spindles in the arms and back.
The most comparable example of the present pair of chairs was in the Philippe De Backer Collection (Lu Ming Shi Collection) and illustrated in Ming, l’Age d’Or du Mobilier Chinois, Paris, 2003, p. 102, pl. 22, which display similar use of the vertical spindles and shaped aprons below the seat. A pair of zitan hexagonal low back armchairs with vertical spindles and intertwined double circle struts are illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Chinese Classic Furniture: Selections from Hong Kong & London Gallery, Hong Kong, 2001-2002, p. 42, no. 12. See, also, the huanghuali hexagonal armchair with tall back and curved, three-part splat, illustrated by Wang Shixiang et. al., Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 51, no. A80. Compare, another single huanghuali armchair with cusped aprons below the seat and stepped stretchers sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008.
Related chairs with unusual seat construction include a pair of zitan armchairs with begonia-shaped seats illustrated by G. Wu Bruce in Zitan Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 24, no. 8 and a pair of fan-shaped huanghuali armchairs illustrated by N. Grindley and F. Hufnagel, Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture: Vok Collection, Munich, 2004, pls. 20 and 21.
The most comparable example of the present pair of chairs was in the Philippe De Backer Collection (Lu Ming Shi Collection) and illustrated in Ming, l’Age d’Or du Mobilier Chinois, Paris, 2003, p. 102, pl. 22, which display similar use of the vertical spindles and shaped aprons below the seat. A pair of zitan hexagonal low back armchairs with vertical spindles and intertwined double circle struts are illustrated by Grace Wu Bruce in Chinese Classic Furniture: Selections from Hong Kong & London Gallery, Hong Kong, 2001-2002, p. 42, no. 12. See, also, the huanghuali hexagonal armchair with tall back and curved, three-part splat, illustrated by Wang Shixiang et. al., Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 51, no. A80. Compare, another single huanghuali armchair with cusped aprons below the seat and stepped stretchers sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008.
Related chairs with unusual seat construction include a pair of zitan armchairs with begonia-shaped seats illustrated by G. Wu Bruce in Zitan Furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 24, no. 8 and a pair of fan-shaped huanghuali armchairs illustrated by N. Grindley and F. Hufnagel, Pure Form: Classical Chinese Furniture: Vok Collection, Munich, 2004, pls. 20 and 21.