A Magnificent and Extremely Rare Pair of Huanghuali Horseshoe-back Armchairs with Mother-of-Pearl, Horn, Ivory, Amber and Soapstone Embellishments 17th / 18th Century

the five-member crestrail inlaid with six mother-of-pearl qilong, the two larger ones grasping vegetal scrolls towards the rounded terminals, the single-board S-curved splat, flanked by mock-spandrels, featuring two enclosed panels, the upper with inlaid horn and mother-of-pearl qilongs, above a larger panel with groups of vases, censers and precious objects in soapstone, ivory and horn, the soft matted seats with two transverse braces, set above an apron carved with twining scrolls, the four posts continuing to the rounded legs with continuous tapered brackets, box stretcher (2)

Formerly in an American collects ion, acquired in the 1940's.

both chairs with replaced caning to seats, transverse stretchers possibly replaced, scattered surface wear, scratches and dings, moderate spotting and slight fading to wood, particularly to legs and stretchers, scattered traces of lacquer, inlay to arms quite worn with some associated cracking, minor losses and fill to inlays on arms, splat inlays with some replaced stringing, moderate wear to inlaid 'antiques' and qilong, particularly at extremities; chair with inlaid horn qilong to splat: one scrolled terminus to arm replaced, repaired break to rear corner of seat where it.mes ets the left stile, repaired breaks to central member of arm assembly where it.mes ets the ajoining segments, vertical cracks with some associated fill to left stile above seat, splat with some fill to knot at lower left of vase with coral, one inch vertical crack to left base of splat above seat, associated 2 1/2 inch crack on reverse of splat, minor fill to foot of inlaid goblet, filled chip to front of right foot below stretcher, chips with some associated fill to rear of right rear leg; second chair: small repaired break at juncture of right side of central segment of arms and adjoining lower right segment, repaired break with associated cracks, fill and wood pins to sides of seat at the join with the right rear stile, cracks on seat between said stile and curved right arm support, small 3/4 by 1/4 inch area of fill to left stile approx. 5 inches above seat, small areas of fill to handles of inlaid censer in splat, hairline to coin, vertical crack to splat, running through area of coin approx. 4 inches (more evident on back of splat), repaired break to rear left leg where it joins the stretchers The inlay noted as amber and horn is tortoiseshell.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any stat.mes nt made by Replica Shoes 's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Embellished huanghuali furniture of this period is extremely rare. It is more common to encounter brushpots or boxes employing the technique of inlaying carved and incised materials of different colors and surfaces into wood, somet.mes s in the form of antiques, but also depicting birds or insects among flowers and rockwork, or figural scenes. According to Wang Shixiang, in Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture, vol. I, p. 145, this type of embellishment  is known as zhouzhi, after the Ming dynasty craftsman, Zhou Zhu, known for this technique. An elaborate box of this type was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th November 1988, lot 256. 

The only other published pair of embellished horseshoe-back armchairs, also inlaid with antiques, appears to be those from the collects ion of Mrs. Rafi Y. Mottahedah, sold in these rooms, 19th October 1990, lot 580. The Mottahedah chairs differ from the present pair in lacking scrolling handrests, stylized scrollwork to the front seat stretcher, and inlay to the arms. In addition, the inlaid antiques on the splats of the present chairs are staggered and slightly overlapped to give a more realistic sense of depth and perspective and the upper inlaid motif on the present examples is in the form of a qilong, while that found on the Mottahedah chairs is in the form of a simplified interlace. 

There appear to be only seven other embellished huanghuali chairs published, all of the yokeback type, each inlaid with a bird among flowering branches (see Nancy Berliner et. al., Beyond the Screen, Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Century, Wilmington, Massachusetts, 1996, no. 10, pp. 109-111, for one from a set of four chairs; Shing Yiu Yip et. al., Chan Chair and Qin Bench, The Dr. S. Y. Yip collects ion of Classic Chinese Furniture II, Hong Kong, 1998, no. 3, pp. 62-63; and National Museum of History, Taiwan, Splendor of Style: Classical Furniture from the Ming and Ching Dynasties, 1999, p. 86 for one from a pair of chairs). 

Compare an embellished lacquer screen attributed to the 17th century, employing inlays depicting both antiques and flower sprays, sold in these rooms, 25th October 1980, lot 282. Compare also a pair of horseshoe-back armchairs formerly in the collects ions of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Nelson Rockefeller, of similar form, without inlay, but carved with antiques and qilong on the splat, sold in these rooms, 2nd December 1992, lot 67. The use of qilong as inlay is also unusual. An early Imperial kang table inlaid with qilong and floral sprays, attributed to the Wanli period, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 31st October 2004, lot 17. Compare also a slightly later example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, attributed to the early Qing dynasty, illustrated in Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, vol II, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 131, p. 148, as well as an elaborately-inlaid washstand in the Chu Xiu Gong (Palace of Gathering Elegance), in the Forbidden City, ibid, vol. II, no. 253, p. 300. See also a late Ming / early Qing dynasty huanghuali cabinet in the Palace Museum, inlaid with similar qilong with elongated scrolling tails, ibid, vol I, no. 174, p. 205.