A FINE PAIR OF HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE-BACK ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI
Qing DynastyEach three-section curved horseshoe top rail supported by a two-section back splat fitted with plain well-figured panels and flanked by continuous back rails run through the seat, C-curved side posts and recessed front posts under the projecting hand rests, all joined to a rectangular mat seat butted at the front to a straight beaded apron and U-shaped spandrels, above carved brackets supporting the foot rest and stepped stretchers. 97cm (38 1/8in) high x 56.8cm (22 3/8in) wide x 47cm (18 1/2in) deep. (2).
注脚
清 黃花梨圈椅成對Provenance: Bonhams San Francisco, 23 June 2015, lot 23An important European private collection來源:舊金山邦瀚斯,2015年6月23日,拍品編號23歐洲重要私人收藏The present pair of chairs displays exceptional grace and finesse, conveyed by the elegant curve of the crest rail and the gracefully-sweeping hook handles. Three-sectioned crestrails are rarer than the more common chairs constructed with five-section crestrails. They demanded longer sections of timber to achieve the dramatic curves of the arms and would have resulted in a significant amount of wastage, thus indicating the high-ranking position of the patron who commissioned this armchair. For a detailed discussion about the sophisticated joinery employed by Chinese craftsmen to construct the curved rails of horseshoe-back armchairs, see C.Evarts, 'Continuous Horseshoe Arms And Half-Lapped Pressure Peg Joins', Journal of The Classical Chinese Furniture Society, 1991, pp.14-18.The term quanyi, used to refer to the shape of the present seat, literally translates as 'chair with a circular back' or 'circular chair'. During the Song dynasty, this design was known as kaolaoyang, referring to a large round basket made from split bamboo. Highly popular for their lightweight, sturdy and strong appearance, in later times cabinetmakers cleverly adapted this bamboo design to hardwood furniture by creating ingenious joinery techniques. See C.Evarts, 'Continuous Horseshoe Arms And Half-Lapped Pressure Peg Joins', Journal of The Classical Chinese Furniture Society, 1991, pp.14-18.Compare with a related huanghuali horseshoe-back armchair, 17th century, displaying a three-section backsplat, the type of which may have served as a prototype for the present pair, illustrated by R.H.Ellsworth, Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections, Honolulu, 1996, p.82, no.66.扶手三接,兩端出頭迴轉收尾,下由兩根後腿、兩根鵝脖及聯幫棍支承。靠背板三段攢框裝板造成,上中兩段僅以陽面方形為飾,下段亮腳。前腿不穿過椅盤與鵝脖相連,而呈現側腳顯著的效果。圈椅之名,蓋因其圓靠背狀如圈而得來。宋人稱之為「栲栳樣」,原意指用竹篾或柳條編成的大圓筐,與之形似。圈椅的後背和扶手一順而下,坐靠時不僅肘部有所倚托,腋下一段臂膀也得到支承,分外舒適。此對黃花梨圈椅造型豐滿勁健,線條簡練流暢,通過巧妙的楔釘榫連接硬木木料,構造出圓勁有力的扶手曲線。圈椅圓形的扶手造法有三接和五接之分。三接的做法可以減少兩處榫卯結合,但須選取較大較長的木料才能製成,對材料的要求和損耗都大大增加,從側面反映了圈椅原主人的雄厚財力和社會地位。關於工匠製作圈椅扶手榫卯造法的詳細論述,可見柯惕思著,〈Continuous Horseshoe Arms And Half-Lapped Pressure Peg Joins〉,收錄於《Journal of The Classical Chinese Furniture Society》,1991年,頁14-18。一具十七世紀黃花梨圈椅,同樣採用三段攢成靠背板,或為本例原型與之比對。見安思遠著,《Chinese Hardwood Furniture in Hawaiian Collections》,檀香山,1996年,頁82,編號66。
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