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Lot Essay
This horseshoe back 'reclining' armchair with a folding leg-rest not only has survived in exceptional condition, it also appears to be a unique design. No other horseshoe chairs of this form are known.
Designed for the occupant to recline and rest with their legs supported on the extension to the seat, this extension can then be neatly folded away to reveal an inbuilt footrest, which, in turn, can be retracted beneath the seat.
This chair has a host of unusual features that include the splat curving beyond the curved rail into a strong scroll, a feature found on Qing lacquer armchairs but rarely on hardwood examples. On the inner curve of this scroll are two beautifully carved dragons, curled back on themselves in a manner reminiscent of the scrolled tendrils on the arms of the famous pair of zitan armchairs with foot stretchers in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Ming and Qing Furniture in the Palace Museum, vol. 4, Beijing, 2015, no.8. The caning to the splat is another unusual feature, sometimes found on yoke back armchairs but rarely, if ever, on a horseshoe back chair. This canework panel to the splat, the seat and extension to the seat appear to be original as does the split-bamboo supporting structure and the trimming strips.
It is thought that many chairs, if we are to believe the evidence of woodblock illustrations, were provided with separate footrests, as were canopy beds, but the paucity of surviving examples and the consequential wear on the footrails of both horseshoe back and yoke back armchairs indicate that were frequently separated. A late example of a hongmu horseshoe armchair with simple folding footrest which simply hinges forward from its locating slots in the side stretchers is preserved in the Palace Museum collection, see The Complete Collection of Ming and Qing Furniture in the Palace Museum, vol. 4, Beijing, 2015, no. 21. The example being offered here is a much more sophisticated piece. The footrest which retracts fully beneath the seat of the chair has slightly splayed round section legs which mimic the design of the chair legs. The lattice design, reminiscent of low garden balustrades and tied bamboo edging, between the legs gives added strength and rigidity to the footrest enabling it to bear the weight of the folding seat extension. This seat extension is securely fixed to the extended footrest by means of a tenon at the end of each leg, which, in turn, slots into a short post projecting up from the footstool and cut with a receiving open sided mortice.
The ingenuity and complexity of this chair and its integral seat extension and foot stool is a testament to the sophistication of late Ming, early Qing chair manufacture for this is surely a one off specific order for a sophisticated client.
This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.
Designed for the occupant to recline and rest with their legs supported on the extension to the seat, this extension can then be neatly folded away to reveal an inbuilt footrest, which, in turn, can be retracted beneath the seat.
This chair has a host of unusual features that include the splat curving beyond the curved rail into a strong scroll, a feature found on Qing lacquer armchairs but rarely on hardwood examples. On the inner curve of this scroll are two beautifully carved dragons, curled back on themselves in a manner reminiscent of the scrolled tendrils on the arms of the famous pair of zitan armchairs with foot stretchers in the Palace Museum, Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Ming and Qing Furniture in the Palace Museum, vol. 4, Beijing, 2015, no.8. The caning to the splat is another unusual feature, sometimes found on yoke back armchairs but rarely, if ever, on a horseshoe back chair. This canework panel to the splat, the seat and extension to the seat appear to be original as does the split-bamboo supporting structure and the trimming strips.
It is thought that many chairs, if we are to believe the evidence of woodblock illustrations, were provided with separate footrests, as were canopy beds, but the paucity of surviving examples and the consequential wear on the footrails of both horseshoe back and yoke back armchairs indicate that were frequently separated. A late example of a hongmu horseshoe armchair with simple folding footrest which simply hinges forward from its locating slots in the side stretchers is preserved in the Palace Museum collection, see The Complete Collection of Ming and Qing Furniture in the Palace Museum, vol. 4, Beijing, 2015, no. 21. The example being offered here is a much more sophisticated piece. The footrest which retracts fully beneath the seat of the chair has slightly splayed round section legs which mimic the design of the chair legs. The lattice design, reminiscent of low garden balustrades and tied bamboo edging, between the legs gives added strength and rigidity to the footrest enabling it to bear the weight of the folding seat extension. This seat extension is securely fixed to the extended footrest by means of a tenon at the end of each leg, which, in turn, slots into a short post projecting up from the footstool and cut with a receiving open sided mortice.
The ingenuity and complexity of this chair and its integral seat extension and foot stool is a testament to the sophistication of late Ming, early Qing chair manufacture for this is surely a one off specific order for a sophisticated client.
This item is made of a type of Dalbergia wood which is subject to CITES export/import restrictions since 2 January 2017. This item can only be shipped to addresses within Hong Kong or collected from our Hong Kong saleroom and office unless a CITES re-export permit is granted. Please contact the department for further information.