A VERY RARE HUANGHUALI SQUARE-BACKED ARMCHAIR, MEIGUIYI
18th centuryOf graceful proportions with the hard-cane seat framed by a straight crestrail above vertical spindles divided by ring struts, the backsplat set with a central round burlwood panel, the straight armrests with similar spindles and struts, continuing to the front posts, the aprons beneath the seat frame supported by interlacing rings, the legs joined with stretchers. 90cm (35 1/2in) high x 59.2cm (23 3/8in) wide x 45.3cm (17 7/8in) deep.
注脚
十八世紀 黃花梨直櫺嵌癭木玫瑰椅Provenance: an important European private collection來源:歐洲重要私人收藏Notable for its elegant form and proportions, and the combination of the previous huanghuali and well-figured burlwood, this exceptionally rare chair is one of the rarest and finest surviving examples of its type. Chairs constructed with a low rectangular back, such as the present example, were referred to as either 'rose chairs', meiguiyi, or 'writing chairs', wenyi. These seats were the smallest of the standard chair designs in Chinese furniture, making them appropriate for both indoor and outdoor use. The sense of elegance and lightness, conveyed by the use of humpback stretchers with pillar-shaped struts above the seat frame, encouraged portable and functional ease. In addition, the straight back and arms conveyed a sense of austerity to the scholar sitting in them and would fit neatly under the window of a scholar's studio, without obstructing the outside view. Smaller and less formal than the 'yokeback' or 'horseshoe-back' armchair, low-back armchairs were often more ornately decorated, displaying decorative frames and stretchers on the back panels, such as the present example. The top rail and arms curve smoothly into the posts, imitating the flexibility of bamboo by means of complex mortise-and-tenon joints. This design was probably inspired by a low-back armchair produced during the Song dynasty, an example of which is depicted in a twelfth century painting by Ma Gongxian (act.1131-1162). Here Li Ao (d.ca. 844), a Confucian scholar, is seeking instruction from Yaoshan Weiyan (751-834), a Chan master, who is seated on a low bamboo chair which resembles the construction of a meiguiyi, with the addition of a back rest. The form of the present chair was alternatively referred to as tushou shubeiyi, or spindle-back armchair, in reference to the tall posts set between the back and arm rails. The use of fine and densely-grained huanghuali to imitate bamboo was popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties. For a further discussion about chairs of this form, see R.D.Jacobsen and N.Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, pp.68-9, no.16, where the authors also illustrate a related pair of huanghuali chairs.Meiguiyi armchairs also served as informal seats for women as well as sedan chairs and were frequently depicted in paintings and prints dating to the Ming and Qing dynasties. For example, the 'Literary Gathering in the Apricot Garden', painted by the court artist Xie Huan (act.1426-1452), depicts 'The Three Yangs' (scholars of the Hanlin Academy) beside bamboo and hardwood low-back armchairs. Ming dynasty painting by Dai Jin (1388-1462) depicts Zhong Kui, the 'Demon Queller', seated on a low-back armchair decorated with circular designs; see S.Handler, 'Rose, Bamboo and the Low-Back Armchair', in Chinese Furniture: Selected Articles from Orientations, 1984-1999, Hong Kong, 1999, pp.250-256; see also Wang Shixiang, 'Development of Furniture Design and Construction from the Song to the Ming', ibid., p.44.Compare with a related huanghuali 'spindle-back' armchair, 17th century, in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN, acc.no.98.76.1, the type of which may have served as a prototype for the present example.主體圓材,靠背與扶手以挖煙袋鍋榫成框,框內以更細的圓材裝邊框,在搭腦及扶手橫材以下一寸多的部位施橫棖,橫棖以下安直櫺,呈梳背式,橫棖以上安單環卡子花;靠背中心兩根直櫺上部加嵌癭木圓板。籐編座面,椅盤下三面亦安設用圓材造成的券口並施直棖,棖上安方環卡子花。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。玫瑰椅靠背和扶手都比較低矮,坐盤略窄,且靠背、扶手與椅面之間相互垂直。一說因其尺寸嬌小,極適合閨閣之中,而稱「玫瑰椅」;江南地區亦稱「文椅」,或與明清版畫中常見該椅出現在文房擺設有關。玫瑰椅用材單細,形態方正精巧,是明清極為流行的椅式之一。明清畫本中可以看到玫瑰椅往往放在桌案的兩邊,對面而設;或不用桌案,雙雙並列;或不規則地斜對著,擺法靈活多變,宜作多方用途。又因為其椅背與扶手高度相差無幾,頗為適合在室內臨窗陳設,椅背不高過窗台,配合桌案使用又不高過桌沿,不至阻擋視線,令人賞心悅目。玫瑰椅造型輕巧,相較於圈椅或官帽椅更顯閒適,周身裝飾也往往更加華麗。其靠背與扶手的頂端橫材通過複雜的挖煙袋鍋榫與前後腿相連接,在硬木材料上仿造出了竹製家具的柔韌感。此種椅式的原型可以追溯至宋式矮靠背扶手椅;日本京都南禪寺藏南宋馬公顯作《藥山李翱問答圖》中,禪師即坐於一竹椅上,竹椅主體的靠背與扶手高度相同,形如玫瑰椅,惟加設一截靠背,以支撐頭頸部。形如本例的直欞玫瑰椅更是借鑒了竹製傢具的特點,並與當時造園門窗流行的「柳條式」門窗隔圖案相似。美國明尼阿波利斯藝術學院藏一對近似的黃花梨梳背椅,見D.Jacobsen與N.Grindley著,《明尼阿波利斯藝術館藏中國古典家具》,明尼阿波利斯,1999年,頁68-69,編號16。美國明尼阿波利斯藝術學院藏一具十七世紀黃花梨梳背椅,館藏編號98.76.1,或為本例直櫺玫瑰椅的原型,可為參考。
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