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Lot Essay
The unparalleled design of the frame at the back and the armrests is inspired by the lattice panels decorating the alluring gardens of Southern China, illustrated in the earliest publication of Chinese garden designs and constructions, Yuanye, by the Ming Dynasty garden architect Ji Cheng (1582-1642). As with the preceding lot 8109, the present chair also originated from the Suzhou region. A chair made in bamboo with similar design of circular cartouche decorations in the chair frame, is illustrated in a hanging scroll by Dai Jin (1388–1462), A Nocturnal Outing of the Demon Queller Zhong Kui, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (fig. 1).
It is relatively rare to find chairs constructed of square sections compared to round sections, and exceptionally rare to find extant examples of this type of low back armchairs, meiguiyi, such as the present lot. A square section low back armchair is illustrated in a handscroll by Xie Huan (1377-1452), Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession Number: 1989.141.3 (fig.2).
It is relatively rare to find chairs constructed of square sections compared to round sections, and exceptionally rare to find extant examples of this type of low back armchairs, meiguiyi, such as the present lot. A square section low back armchair is illustrated in a handscroll by Xie Huan (1377-1452), Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Accession Number: 1989.141.3 (fig.2).