A RARE SET OF FOUR HUANGHUALI HORSESHOE-BACK ARMCHAIRS, QUANYI MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY | 明十七世紀 黃花梨圈椅四把成堂

Horseshoe back chairs, quanyi, with their elegant curving crest rail and sweeping armrests are strikingly modern in their balanced interplay between curvilinear and straight members. Inspired by chairs made of pliable lengths of bamboo, their seemingly simple continuous crest rail was achieved through an ingenious joinery technique. In order to recreate the continuous back in hardwood, members were fitted together with a cut-out to accommodate a tapered wood pin that would lock them firmly in place when inserted. With the application of a lacquer coating, the underlying joinery became virtually invisible.

These lightweight but sturdy armchairs were one of the most prestigious seats in Ming and Qing dynasty households. Frequently depicted in woodblock illustrations, these chairs were used in numerous contexts but were reserved for high-ranking individuals. During formal occasions, quanyi were draped in sumptuous textiles and provided with a footstool. Their wide seats, C-shaped splats and curved backs make them particularly comfortable and thus also suitable in informal settings. With the addition of two carrying poles, they were converted into sedan chairs, which the Ming dynasty carpenters’ manual Lu Ban jing [The classic of Lu Ban] calls yajiao, from the word yamen, or ‘magistrate office’, suggesting they were reserved for important government officials.

Horseshoe chairs were generally made in sets of two or four, although intact sets of four are rare. A set of four quanyi with plain splats was included in the exhibition Ming Furniture, Grace Wu Bruce Ltd., Hong Kong, 1995, cat. no. 23; another set with an openwork panel on the splat, from the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, was sold at Christie’s New York, 17th March 2015, lot 41; and two sets were reputedly in the former Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in California. 

Chairs of this form are known either left undecorated or carved on the splats with raised motifs, as on these chairs. The design on these chairs of two chilong facing a shou (longevity) character is unusual, although a similar motif is found on a pair of chairs sold in our New York rooms, 25th September 1986, lot 556. 

圈椅帶月牙扶手，彎弧圓美，線條流麗，與平直部件一體相融。圈椅雛形原以竹造，因竹子柔韌易塑。椅圈形態雖簡，然非精工巧技乃不可為；以硬木圓材攢接椅圈，作楔釘榫固定，結合緊密後表面髹漆，連接處隱約無痕。

圈椅敦雅輕靈，乃明清家宅坐具之佳品。考木刻版畫可知，用圈椅處不勝枚舉，落座之人皆地位顯赫；如遇隆重場合，圈椅加配椅罩、腳凳。椅座寬綽，弧形靠背板貼合腰身，亦適宜閒坐。圈椅兩側若添長桿，可作肩輿，明代木工專著《魯班經》稱其為牙轎式，牙即牙門，通稱「衙門」，故知為官署專用。

圈椅多成對或四把成堂，然四件同存之例甚罕。比一堂四把，靠背板無紋飾，曾展於《明式家具》，嘉木堂，香港，1995年，編號23；另一組，靠背板作透雕，安思遠舊藏，售於紐約佳士得2015年3月17日，編號41；及兩組，傳原加州中國古典家具博物館藏。

此式座椅或不著紋飾，或於靠背板陽刻雕花，現例屬後者，作螭龍團壽，乃不多見，紐約蘇富比曾售一對，椅上紋飾與之相類，1986年9月25日，編號556。