17TH CENTURY

The impressive height of the present pair of chairs (120.4 cm.) accentuates the sleek silhouette and restrained elegance that define the finest Ming-dynasty furniture. Their gently tapering uprights rise to meet an undulating crestrail, expertly shaped to create the distinctive and refined A-frame profile characteristic of the type. Devoid of carving or inlay, the chairs rely entirely on its sophisticated design, silhouette, and construction, directing attention to the purity of form and masterful craftsmanship.

A huanghuali ‘official’s hat’ armchair of similar proportions and with the crestrail and arms terminating in cut off ends is illustrated by Wang Shixiang in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1990, p. 43, pl. A70. See, also, a pair of shorter huanghuali 'official's hat' armchairs, of similar construction and design, illustrated in R. H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1997, pl. 3.