AN EXTREMELY RARE HUANGHUALI LOW-BACK CONTINUOUS YOKEBACK ARMCHAIR, NANGUANMAOYI
17th centuryThe highly-curved round-cornered top-rail pipe joined to the stiles, which continue through the seat frame to become the back legs, the elongated round-cornered S-shaped arms mitred, mortised and tenoned to the stiles and pipe-joined to the posts, similarly continuing through the seat to become the front legs, the sockets in the seat frame and the underside of the arms supported by a pair of tapering S-shaped circular supports, the back splat with two beaded-edged stretchers mortised and tenoned to the underside of the top rail and the back rail of the seat frame, further divided into three sections with a pair of horizontal beads-edged mitred stretchers, the top inset with a reticulated panel decorated with a foliate design above a central burlwood panel and a cusped leaf-shaped apron below the lower stretcher, the seat frame of standard mitre, mortise and tenon construction with the edge slightly curving and tenons exposed on the short rails, a plain apron with mitred spandrels butt-joined to the underside and tongue-and-grooved to the legs beneath the seat, the sides and back with similar aprons, the legs joined in front by a shaped footrest above an apron, each side fitted with a pair of oval stretchers flattened on the underside, the back with a similar single stretcher. 93cm high (36 5/8in) x 56.3cm (22 1/8in) wide x 45.3cm (18in) deep.
注脚
十七世紀 黃花梨攢靠背南官帽椅Provenance: Grace Wu Bruce, Hong KongThe Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Renaissance, CaliforniaChristie's New York, 19 September 1996, lot 36Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 103An important European private collectionPublished and Illustrated: Wang Shixiang and C.Evarts, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995, pp.68-69來源:香港古董商嘉木堂中國古典家具博物館,美国加州Renaissance紐約佳士得,1996年9月19日,拍品編號36香港蘇富比,2016年4月6日,拍品編號103歐洲重要私人收藏出版著錄:王世襄及柯惕思,《中國古典家具博物館館藏精品》,芝加哥及舊金山,1995年,頁68 – 69Characterised by elegant lines and generous yet balanced proportions, this magnificent armchair displays painstaking and delicate workmanship, conveying a highly-refined aesthetic pervaded with a strong sense of Court atmosphere. A variant of the 'yokeback' chair, the 'Southern official's hat' seat is one of the most highly-accomplished forms of Chinese furniture construction. Comfortable, elegant and somewhat less formal than tall yokeback chairs with extended arms and top rails, the 'Southern official's hat' seat displays elegant proportions without a heavy appearance. The crestrail of this graceful seat appears to blend seamlessly into the back posts, as opposed to extending beyond them, As with the 'official's hat' counterpart. This effect was achieved through the use of the so-called 'pipe-joint,' a right-angle joint which also connected the curved arms to the front upright posts. Yokeback armchairs were used since at least the Northern Song dynasty as seats for emperors, deities, high-ranking officials. Their relatively-straight back forced the body to assume a posture of upright rectitude, thus inevitably bestowing honour, dignity and power on the dignitary sitting on it. These chairs were usually made in sets of four or more, arranged in the reception hall for guests, with the hosts and guests respectively seated in the north and south side of the hall. However, towards the end of the Ming dynasty, this arrangement was altered to an east-west configuration. For a comprehensive view of the evolution of the yokeback chair, see S.Handler, 'A Yokeback Chair for Sitting Tall,' in Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society, Spring 1993, pp.4-23.It is very unusual for a 'Southern official's hat' armchair to have three-sectioned backsplats, a feature more frequently associated with 'horseshoe-back' examples. Here the upper section is carved with a reticulated ruyi medallion; the middle section is set with an attractive burlwood panel exhibiting highly-figured 'grape-like' grains; and the lower section is defined by an arched apron. This elaborate design was probably adapted to fit the aesthetic taste of the owner and may have been inspired by a 'continuous yokeback' armchair depicted in a woodblock illustration from 'Journey to the West' Xiyou Ji (1573-1619) illustrated by Chu-Pak Lau, Classical Chinese Furniture from the Haven Collection, Hong Kong, 2016, p.98.Compare with a set of four huanghuali 'Southern official's hat' armchairs, 17th/18th century, in the Hong Kong University Museum, which display a related tripartite design for the backsplats, illustrated in Ibid., p.99, no.17.大彎弧形的圓材搭腦兩端以挖煙袋鍋榫連接後腿上截,穿過椅盤成為腿足。三彎弧形的圓材扶手飄肩出榫納入後腿上截,前端以挖煙袋鍋榫與前腿鵝脖連接,穿過椅盤成為腿足,扶手中間支以三彎形上細下大的圓材聯幫棍。靠背板由三段攢成,上段鑲鏤空如意紋牌,中段鑲楠木癭子,下段鑲葉紋亮腳。靠背後方掛麻披灰。椅盤為標準格角榫攢邊框,四框內緣踩邊打眼造軟屜。冰盤微起混面,抹頭見透榫。座面下帶耳形牙頭的牙條,左右兩側及後方安相似短牙條。前方腿足間施踏腳棖,下有一素牙子,左右兩側各安二根底面削平橢圓形管腳棖,後方一根。此具黃花梨南官帽椅線條柔婉,曲直合度。大彎弧形的搭腦形成委婉含蓄的一道弧線,勢如張弓。扶手前低後高,與搭腦走勢貫通,三彎弧形曲線靈動,又與鵝脖自然銜接。柔中帶剛,暢通自然,傳達出高級的審美情趣和強烈的宮廷氣息。官帽椅形同官帽,自北宋起就主要供貴族文人及士大夫階層使用;其後背板相對平直的設計使人自然端坐其上,強化了使用者的尊貴地位。南官帽椅作為官帽椅的變體,亦是中國古典家具中的經典類型之一。搭腦和靠背的弧形設計為人體提供舒適的支撐,相較之四出頭官帽椅則更顯靈動優雅且不失莊重。此類坐具常以四張或更多為一組製成,置於廳堂之上,用以待客。依照古禮,主客相會,主北面坐,客南面坐;明末以後開始流行「蘇坐」,即主客東西相向而坐。有關官帽椅的演進,可見S.Handler著,〈A Yokeback Chair for Sitting Tall〉,收錄於《Journal of the Chinese Classical Furniture Society》,1993年春季刊,頁4-23。三段攢靠背多見於圈椅和官帽椅,用於南官帽椅者極少。本例中靠背板上下設兩橫棖,上段如意云頭開光,沿邊起陽線,中段癭木板紋理華麗,下段亮腳牙板壼門曲線柔美,生機盎然。亮腳牙板與如意開光,隔著中間素板遙相呼應,是為點睛之筆。攢靠背官帽椅子在明代書籍版畫插圖常見,但傳世實例實為稀少。參見《西遊記》插圖版畫所繪一例南官帽椅,收錄於劉柱柏著,《晏如居藏明式黃花梨家具》,香港,2016年,頁98。香港大學博物館一組十七至十八世紀黃花梨攢靠背南官帽椅,四張成堂,出處同上,頁99,編號17,可資參考。
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