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| MING - QING DYNASTY 17TH CENTURY |
| A PAIR OF HUANGHUALI YOKEBACK ARMCHAIRS (SICHUTOUGUANMAOYI) |
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| Each with an arched crestrail joined
to a
wide S-curved rectangular splat, the
stiles similarly curved, on a hard-
caned
seat with elegantly outscrolled arms
above
beaded and shaped brackets and aprons,
the
legs joined to the frame by tapering
dovetail housing joints surmounting
long
beaded moldings, joined by four
typically
ascending stretchers from front to
back
rail, the underside with a pair of
transverse braces (2)
Height: 39 1/2 in. 100.3 cm; Width 23
3/4
in., 60.3 cm; Depth 18 1/2 in., 47
cm.
The present pair of yokeback
armchairs,
predominantly plain with circular
members
of consistent thickness and truncated
outscrolled ends, focuses the eye on
the
balance of the form, the negative
space
and subtle undulating movement within
the
linear form. This form is generally
more
comfortable than straight or C-curved
examples, maximized by the S-shaped
cut
through the concentric growth rings of
the
timber. This type of large yokeback
armchair is one of the core elements
of
the classical Chinese household and
many
examples are preserved in major
museums
and private collections.
For a general discussion on the basic
model and decorative vocabulary of
these
chairs, see Curtis Evarts, 'From
Ornate to
Unadorned'. Journal of the Chinese
Classical Furniture Society, Spring
1993,
pp. 24-33. A closely related armchair
is
illustrated in Beyond the Screen,
Chinese
Furniture of the 16th and 17th
Centuries,
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1996, cat.
no.
8. For another example see Splendor of
Style: Classical Furniture from the
Ming
and Qing Dynasties, National Museum of
History, Beijing, 1999, p. 82.
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Copyright © 2009 Yun An by ChengKai Design,All Rights Reseved
