17TH CENTURY

The horseshoe-back armchair is one of four types of Chinese chairs, and is distinguished by its rounded crestrail and out-swept hooks. The form is commonly found; however, the present chair has the added details of the elongated spandrels running the length of the vertical posts above the seat. This small detail subtly emphasizes the refined curve of the crestrail and arms. The design of the chair is further elevated by the tripartite backsplat showcasing richly textured huanghuali in contrast with the delicate lines of the openwork ruyi-head panel. A pair of huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs with plain splats, fitted with elongated shaped spandrels, is illustrated by G. Wu Bruce, Ming Furniture Through My Eyes, The Forbidden City Publishing House, Beijing, 2015, p. 101.

For a discussion of this chair shape, see R.H. Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Ch'ing Dynasty, New York, 1971, pp. 86-87, and Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 43-45.