One of the three main types of Ming chairs, the horseshoe shape design is uniquely Chinese and has inspired various twentieth century furniture designers to create well-known modern examples. This superb chair utilizes very tightly grained timber, highlighting huanghuali wood at its most figured pattern, and the accentuated curves of the piece amply demonstrate the sculptural qualities of Ming furniture.

Compare this to the similar example in the Arthur M Sackler Collections, now in the Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. (Handler, 24)

Provenance
Professor Michael Martin, Hong Kong.

The arm of five sections, joined by overlapping pressure-pegged scarf joins, begins and ends in gently returning knobs. The S-curved back splat has narrow curvilinear spandrel flanges and a carved ruyi-shaped medallion with stylized dragons. The stiles and posts are tenoned into the horseshoe shaped arm and pass through the seat frame to become the legs. Small shaped spandrels are tongue-and-grooved into the posts and the underside of the arm. There are tapering S-shaped braces supporting the arm. The seat frame, of mitred, mortised and tenoned construction with exposed tenons on the short rails has two transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is curved and moulds inward to end in a narrow flat band. It was drilled for soft seat construction and has been restored with old mat. The beaded-edged curvilinear shaped front apron is butt-jointed to the underside of the seat frame, tongue-and-grooved to the legs and tenoned into the footrest. Similar aprons are on the sides while the one in the back is plain and high. The legs are joined in front by a shaped footrest and on the sides and back, stretchers of square section with rounded outside edges, all with exposed tenons. There are plain shaped aprons below the footrest and the side stretchers.

Handler, Sarah, The Revolution in Chinese Furniture: Moving from Mat to Chair, Asian Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Volume IV, No 3 Summer 1991, Oxford University Press.

One of the three main types of Ming chairs, the horseshoe shape design is uniquely Chinese and has inspired various twentieth century furniture designers to create well-known modern examples. This superb chair utilizes very tightly grained timber, highlighting huanghuali wood at its most figured pattern, and the accentuated curves of the piece amply demonstrate the sculptural qualities of Ming furniture.

Compare this to the similar example in the Arthur M Sackler Collections, now in the Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. (Handler, 24)

Provenance
Professor Michael Martin, Hong Kong.

The arm of five sections, joined by overlapping pressure-pegged scarf joins, begins and ends in gently returning knobs. The S-curved back splat has narrow curvilinear spandrel flanges and a carved ruyi-shaped medallion with stylized dragons. The stiles and posts are tenoned into the horseshoe shaped arm and pass through the seat frame to become the legs. Small shaped spandrels are tongue-and-grooved into the posts and the underside of the arm. There are tapering S-shaped braces supporting the arm. The seat frame, of mitred, mortised and tenoned construction with exposed tenons on the short rails has two transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is curved and moulds inward to end in a narrow flat band. It was drilled for soft seat construction and has been restored with old mat. The beaded-edged curvilinear shaped front apron is butt-jointed to the underside of the seat frame, tongue-and-grooved to the legs and tenoned into the footrest. Similar aprons are on the sides while the one in the back is plain and high. The legs are joined in front by a shaped footrest and on the sides and back, stretchers of square section with rounded outside edges, all with exposed tenons. There are plain shaped aprons below the footrest and the side stretchers.

Handler, Sarah, The Revolution in Chinese Furniture: Moving from Mat to Chair, Asian Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Volume IV, No 3 Summer 1991, Oxford University Press.

One of the three main types of Ming chairs, the horseshoe shape design is uniquely Chinese and has inspired various twentieth century furniture designers to create well-known modern examples. This superb chair utilizes very tightly grained timber, highlighting huanghuali wood at its most figured pattern, and the accentuated curves of the piece amply demonstrate the sculptural qualities of Ming furniture.

Compare this to the similar example in the Arthur M Sackler Collections, now in the Arthur M Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C. (Handler, 24)

Provenance
Professor Michael Martin, Hong Kong.

The arm of five sections, joined by overlapping pressure-pegged scarf joins, begins and ends in gently returning knobs. The S-curved back splat has narrow curvilinear spandrel flanges and a carved ruyi-shaped medallion with stylized dragons. The stiles and posts are tenoned into the horseshoe shaped arm and pass through the seat frame to become the legs. Small shaped spandrels are tongue-and-grooved into the posts and the underside of the arm. There are tapering S-shaped braces supporting the arm. The seat frame, of mitred, mortised and tenoned construction with exposed tenons on the short rails has two transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is curved and moulds inward to end in a narrow flat band. It was drilled for soft seat construction and has been restored with old mat. The beaded-edged curvilinear shaped front apron is butt-jointed to the underside of the seat frame, tongue-and-grooved to the legs and tenoned into the footrest. Similar aprons are on the sides while the one in the back is plain and high. The legs are joined in front by a shaped footrest and on the sides and back, stretchers of square section with rounded outside edges, all with exposed tenons. There are plain shaped aprons below the footrest and the side stretchers.

Handler, Sarah, The Revolution in Chinese Furniture: Moving from Mat to Chair, Asian Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Volume IV, No 3 Summer 1991, Oxford University Press.

Rose chairs are one of three types of classic Ming chair designs. It is referred to as rose chairs meiguiyi in the north and scholars chairs wenyi in the South.

Compare these with similar examples in the Cheng Menjia collection (Wang, 80) now in the Shanghai Museum, and those illustrated in Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture. (Wu Bruce, 32-33)

The round corner top rail is pipe-joined to the stiles which continue through the seat-frame to become the back legs. The arms, with similar round corners, are mitred, mortised and tenoned to the stiles and pipe-joined to the posts which also continue through the seat to become the legs. The arch-shaped beaded-edged apron of the chair back, carved with angular spirals is tongue-and-grooved into the top rail, stiles and tenoned to a round stretcher below with two pillar-shaped struts tenoned to it and the seat frame. Similar stretchers and struts are mortised and tenoned to the stiles, posts and seat below the armrests. The seat frame of standard mitred, mortised and tenoned construction, with a moulded edge that ends in a narrow flat band, was drilled for soft seat and is now restored with old matting, supported by two underneath stretchers. There are exposed tenons on the short rails. Beneath the seat, the curvilinear shaped, beaded-edged apron with carved decoration in the centre, is tongue-and-grooved to the legs and butt-joined to the underside of the seat frame. The aprons on the sides are also shaped but plain, and the back one is high and plain. Between the front legs is a shaped footrest and below it a plain shaped apron. Rectangular stretchers rounded on the outsides join the legs, and there are also aprons below the side stretchers.

Wang, Shixiang, Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Han-Shan Tang, London, 1986.
Wu Bruce, Grace, Dreams of Chu Tan Chamber and the Romance with Huanghuali Wood: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture, Hong Kong, 1991.

Yoke back armchairs where the top rail and arms do not have protruding ends are termed continuous yoke back armchairs, and they are a classic type of Ming chairs. Completely plain, their square section members and architectural proportions render this pair of chairs very sculptural in appearance.

Compare this to the similar examples in round members in the Danish Museum of Art and Design, Copenhagen. (Beurdeley, 80-81)

The square section top rail is pipe-joined to the square stiles which continue through the seat to become the legs. The beautifully figured, S-shaped back splat is tongue-and-grooved into the underside of the top rail and the back member of the seat frame. The elongated S-shaped arms, mortised and tenoned into the stiles and pipe-joined to the posts are supported by tapering S braces, all of square sections. The front posts like the stiles, also pass through the seat to become the legs. The mitred, mortised and tenoned seat frame has two transverse braces underneath, it was drilled for soft seat construction and is now restored with old matting. The edge of the frame moulds gently inward and downward to end in a narrow banded edge. Below the seat is a plain shaped apron with mitred spandrels butt-joined to the underside of the seat and tongue-and-grooved to the legs. There are similar aprons on the sides and back. The legs are joined by a shaped foot rail in front, square stretchers on the sides and back. There are plain shaped aprons beneath the footrest and side stretchers.

Beurdeley, Michel, Chinese Furniture, Tokyo, New York and San Francisco, 1979.

One of the three main types of Ming chairs, the horseshoe shape design is uniquely Chinese and have inspired various twentieth century furniture designers to create well-known modern examples.

Compare these with the two similar examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Clunas, 25 – 26).

The arm of five sections, joined by overlapping pressure-pegged scarf joins, begins and ends in gently returning knobs. The plain S-curved back splat is tongue-and-grooved into the underside of the horseshoe arm and the back member of the seat frame. The stiles and posts are tenoned into the horseshoe shaped arm and pass through the seat frame to become the legs. Small shaped spandrels are tongue-and-grooved into the posts and the underside of the arm. There are tapering S-shaped braces supporting the arm. The seat frame, of mitred, mortised and tenoned construction with exposed tenons on the short rails has two transverse stretchers underneath. The edge of the frame is gently curved and ends in a narrow flat band. It was drilled for soft seat construction and has been restored with old mat. The curvilinear-shaped, beaded-edged front apron is butt-jointed to the underside of the seat frame, tongue-and-grooved to the legs and tenoned into the footrest. There are similar aprons on the sides while the one in the back is plain and high. The legs are joined in front by a shaped footrest and on the sides and back, stretchers of square section with rounded outside edges. There is a plain shaped apron below the footrest.

Clunas, Craig, Chinese Furniture Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988.

Chairs were made in pairs and sets of four but surviving examples of sets of four chairs datable to this period are very rare.

The convention of using marble dalishi panels in Chinese furniture was in use by the Song dynasty (1127 - 1279), as seen in paintings of the time, e.g. Liu Songnian “Five Scholars of the Tang period”. Ming paintings also frequently depicted furniture with marble dalishi panels although surviving examples dated to the classical period are rare. It stands to reason as stone panels are difficult to repair when cracked or damaged.

A zitan set of four continuous yoke back chairs are in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (Murk, 49) and two sets of four horseshoe chairs are illustrated in the Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture (Wang et al, 61, 63).

With a vigorously shaped top rail of everted yoke into which are tenoned the stiles which continue through the seat frame to become the back legs. The S-shaped back splat, formed by two shaped beaded-edged upright members, mortised and tenoned into the underside of the top rail and the back of the seat frame has two mitred, mortised and tenoned horizontal members dividing it into three sections, the top one an inset panel inlaid with a round marble, the central one a beautifully figured marble panel and the lowest one an in-set beaded-edged apron. The elongated S-shaped arms are mitred, mortised and tenoned into the stiles and the front posts, also S-shaped. The seat frame, of mitred, mortised and tenoned construction was drilled for soft seat and now has been restored with old matting with one transverse brace underneath. Beneath the seat is a beaded-edged, shaped apron in front while the one on the sides and back are similarly shaped but plain. The legs are joined by a shaped footrest in front with two shaped spandrels underneath and on the sides and back by oval stretchers flattened on the underside.

Murck, Alfreda and Fong, Wen, A Chinese Garden Court, The Astor Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Reprinted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Winter 1980/81, New York.
Wang, Shixiang and Evarts, Curtis, Masterpieces from the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture, Chinese Art Foundation, Chicago and San Francisco, 1995.