A VERY FINE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE-BACK ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
17th centuryEach elegantly modelled with a curving toprail sloping down to the arms supported on serpentine side posts and terminating in a curved hook beyond the corner-posts set with shaped spandrels, the backsplat carved with a ruyi-shaped panel enclosing a curling chilong, the back corner-posts continuing below the rectangular frame set with a matted seat, to the back legs joined by three stretchers and a footrest with plain apron. 102cm high (40 1/8in) x 61cm (24in) wide x 48cm (18 7/8in) deep. (2).
注脚
十七世紀 黃花梨圈椅成對Provenance: an important European private collection來源:歐洲重要私人收藏Elegant lines and generous yet balanced proportions characterise this magnificent pair of huanghuali armchairs. Chairs displaying this graceful silhouette were frequently portrayed in Ming and Qing dynasty woodblock illustrations depicting their use in various domestic and official settings, such as dining rooms, scholars' studios and entertaining halls. Whenever a representation of a banquet shows both round-backed and square-backed armchairs in use, it is the latter which were occupied by the more eminent guests. Quanyi armchairs denoted high status and were reserved for eminent officials and magistrates. During the late Ming period, these seats bore the imposing name of 'Grand Tutor Chairs' taishi yi. For a fuller discussion about horseshoe-back armchairs, see C.Clunas, Chinese Furniture, London, 1988, p.24. See also R.H.Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasty, New York, 1971, pp.86-87.The inviting capacious arched crestrails were inspired by chairs of nearly-identical shape but made of pliable lengths of bamboo, which were bent into a 'U'-shape and bound together using natural fibers. These chairs display the ingenuity of Ming dynasty cabinet makers, who were able to create a hardwood version by developing complicated joinery techniques. The continuous back was thus obtained by fitting together the separate members with a cut-out to accommodate a tapered wood pin that locked them firmly in place once inserted. This elaborate design called for utmost precision, as the smallest error in the angle of any of the joints would be emphasised by the adjoining members. A lacquer coat was finally applied to the surface crestrail so that the underlying joinery was not visible and virtually impossible to wrest apart.The superb present pair of armchairs displays large arching crestrails ending in pronounced scrolling hand grips, graceful and vigorous outlines for the shaped aprons, and refined quality of carving for the splat medallions and aprons. The crisp angular scrollwork may be an innovation introduced during the late Ming/Qing dynasty. This feature may have been inspired by designs found on archaic bronzes, thus reflecting the interest in antiquarianism shared by the scholarly elites of the late 17th century; see R.H.Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture. Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, New York, 1971, p.86.A related huanghuali chair, 17th century, formerly in the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, was sold at Christie's New York, 18 March 2015, lot 139.月牙扶手曲線優美,兩端出頭迴轉收尾。靠背板上端開光浮雕螭龍紋,後腿上截出榫納入圈形彎弧扶手,下穿過椅盤成為腿足,鵝脖與前腿足亦相同造法。扶手與鵝脖間打槽嵌入小角牙,扶手左右支以三彎聯幫棍。籐編座面,椅盤下的券口牙板浮雕卷草??紋,兩側面則裝素券口牙子。腿間施步步高趕棖,踏腳棖及左右兩側管腳棖下各安一素牙子。圈椅常見於明清兩代的木刻版畫中,造形大器美觀,線條流暢,適用於廳堂或居家各類場合。有關圈椅用途的詳細論述可見柯律格著,《Chinese Furniture》,倫敦,1988年,頁24,以及安思遠著,《Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasties》,紐約,1971年,頁86-87。圈椅因其圓而細的月牙扶手而得名。明代工匠通過複雜的楔釘榫造法,在硬木上復刻出竹篾彎曲的效果,傳達出豐盈且平衡的圓潤之美。此對黃花梨圈椅線條簡約,比例得當,色澤溫潤,盡顯傳統手藝的精工細作。券口牙板的浮雕卷草紋或源自青銅禮器紋飾,反映了十七世紀晚期文人階層的崇古思潮。安思遠認為,此種複古的紋飾設計是為晚明至康熙時期的創新,見安思遠著,《Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasties》,紐約,1971年,頁86。安氏舊藏一具十七世紀黃花梨圈椅,售於紐約佳士得,2015年3月18日,拍品編號139,可資參考。
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