Fine Pair of Chinese Armchairs 19th Century Lacquered Official Hat Yoke Back
A stunning pair of fine antique lacquered Chinese armchairs in wonderful condition. Impressively sized and dripping with quality, this beautiful pair will add stunning bygone Oriental style and exquisite cultured grandeur to any setting.
Most likely made in the mid-to-late 19th Century, in the beautiful Ming Dynasty style of several hundred years earlier, this large and ornate pair of armchairs are made from solid elm with dark lacquer showing traces of orange and red. Large, sturdy and impressive, these throne-like chairs were made to make an impact and were reserved for the most high-status of bottoms!
Called Official Hat, Scholars or Yoke Back chairs, these chairs were reserved for nobility, officials and scholars. They feature striking wavy Yak-horn-shaped crest rails, which mimicked the hats worn by the officials who used them. They have tall and wonderfully curved 'S'-shaped yoke back splats, denoting status, with stunning ancient Buddhist carvings.
The quality of craftsmanship can be seen throughout, with the curved back supports, beautiful curved arms with wavy arms supports, large rectangular sunken tiered seats over sturdy legs with side and rear stretchers and beautiful robust footrest front stretchers.
This fine pair have gorgeous wear, patination and sumptuous rich toning as well as wonderful signs of joinery and beautiful carpentry embellishments throughout; note the exquisite, shapely supporting aprons to the crest rails and arms, the side, rear and front legs – the latter having gorgeous thistle-like sun carving details.
The carvings to the back splats are of the Asian Swastika, which has always been the symbol of all things good - peace, compassion, luck, success and happiness. In Chinese Buddhism the clockwise swastika, as these are, symbolises future success and happiness and many Buddhist rituals, such as circumambulation, follow this direction. In China, the swastika is also the symbol for 'Wan', meaning ten thousand, an auspicious number in the Chinese classical culture, so these carvings can be understood to symbolise 'peace and harmony in ten thousand directions’.
All in all this is a wonderful pair of fine antique armchairs, which are as much a joy to sit in as they are to behold. These are as good a pair as we've seen and the price for some can approach the six-figure range so grab these stunners while you can.
CONDITION
These are in very good condition. Wonderfully made and built to last, they are structurally sound and sturdy. They have the to-be-expected minor scuffs and marks, which only add to their antique charm. Overall they're in wonderful and quite remarkable condition for their age and if well looked after they should last another 150+ years - please see the photos.
MEASUREMENTS
Height - 113cm, Width - 62cm, Depth - 61cm, Seat Height - 51cm, Seat Width - 50cm, Seat Depth - 41cm, Weight - 8.5kg per chair.
DELIVERY
UK mainland delivery price quoted, or collect from Warwick UK. Please CONTACT US FOR INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY QUOTES with your postcode/zipcode - the current International delivery quote is just a place-holder.
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