China, late Ming to early Qing Dynasty (17th–18th century) Huanghuali or southern elmwood (jumu), traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery H 95 × W 55 × D 45 × SH 52 cm

A museum-grade pair of official's hat chairs (guanmaoyi) with continuous horseshoe-form crest rails that flow into gracefully splayed legs—the silhouette scholars sought for three centuries. The wood has developed a luminous patina in warm amber and coffee-brown, earned through generations of use. Cloud-scroll medallions carved into each splat speak to longevity and scholarly virtue, while the original woven rattan seats retain their tautness.

The form embodies Confucian restraint: hierarchy without ostentation, authority without excess.

PROVENANCE & REFERENCES

Classic Ming form documented in Wang Shixiang's Classical Chinese Furniture (1986) and the Palace Museum, Beijing. Comparable pairs: Christie's Hong Kong (29 Nov 2017, lot 2802, huanghuali, 17th c., HK$3.7M) and Sotheby's New York (14 Mar 2018, lot 503). The outward flare of the stiles and absence of stretchers mark these as late Ming to early Qing transitional works, likely from Shanxi or Jiangsu workshops.