黃花梨官帽椅一對​ Dimensions: 37" (93.98cm) H A pair of Chinese Ming Dynasty-style Huanghuali hardwood low-back yokeback armchairs from the twentieth century. The chairs are flanked with gracefully curved and sloped armrests, a gently squared back, and a rectangular splat divided into three panels. The top panel features a square carved motif in low relief of a serpentine dragon among swirling clouds, while the lower panel is pierced with a ruyi shaped cartouche. The chair is composed of mortise and tenon joinery and is raised by four vertical legs, an arch-shaped apron, and pairs of side stretchers and spandrels. The Ming dynasty precedent for this chair-type rose in popularity in Southern China in the Yangtze River region. The gently flowing grain of the rare Huanghuali hardwood is the central decorative focus of the pair of chairs. The emphasis on materiality is an expression of the restrained elegance that typifies furniture of Ming and Qing dynasties. Of honey-gold and reddish-brown hue, the ripples of the wood grain harmoniously blend into one another. Thus, just the wood grain alone creates a sumptuous surface design accompanied by minimal ornament. The pair of chairs are a compositional amalgam of forms derived from canonical Chinese chair types from the Ming to early Qing dynasties. The overall form of the chair ties in elements from the ‘yokeback’ chair type and the ‘Southern official’s hat’ seat type. In addition, the three-sectioned backsplat is a common element found in ‘horseshoe-back’ chairs and thus is atypical of the low-back yokeback armchairs. Notably, the armrests are not supported by curved stiles, as is typical of the low-back yokeback chair type. This omission positions the pair of chairs stylistically closer to the canonical ‘horseshoe-back’ chair type. The elegant lines and masterful craftsmanship of the armrests are accentuated, as they are unobstructed by competing stiles. (2pc)Compare with a related single huanghuali low-back continuous yokeback armchair (lot 24) sold at Bonhams London from The H Collection on 13 May 2021. 黃花梨太師椅一對來源：多倫多香港家族收藏 Provenance: Hong Kong Family Collection in Toronto