Huanghuali Continuous Horseshoe-Back Armchairs

Late Ming Dynasty
Continuous Horseshoe Armchairs
Cocobolo (Huanghuali)

• The armchair's horseshoe-shaped arms are crafted from three sections, connected by overlapped and pressure-pegged scarf joints, with posts and stiles that are mortised and tenoned into the arms, extending down through the seat frame to form the legs.
• Two round, curved stretchers are tongue-and-grooved into the back stiles and tenoned beneath the arms, creating catapult-shaped supports, while the back splat consists of two shaped uprights, mortised and tenoned below the arms and into the seat frame's back.
• The back splat is divided into four main sections by three mitred horizontal stretchers: the top features an openwork panel with a beaded edge, the second contains a mat-on-board panel, the third has another beaded-edged openwork panel, all above a cusped apron with a beaded border.
• Each arm is reinforced by an elongated, round, S-shaped brace, and the seat frame's sturdy structure is supported by a transverse stretcher underneath, with shorter rails showcasing exposed tenons, complemented by hump-backed stretchers and pillar-shaped struts connecting the legs beneath the seat frame.
• The chair's stability is further enhanced by oval stretchers with flattened undersides that join the side and back legs near the feet, along with a shaped footrest at the front that rests above a decorative apron.

Reference and image source: Sotheby's Hong Kong Limited