A Rare Pair of Huanghuali Lobed Stools 17th Century

each of quatrilobe section, the rattan cane seat framed by a foliate frame with notched corners, supported on a waist and a plain rounded apron, the elegantly bowed legs following the vertical line of the indented corners from the seat and curving down to the tapered high-hoofed feet, further excentuated by the continuous beaded frame on the edges from the apron to the tips of the feet, the wood of a rich warm golden colour

Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, Chinese Furniture: One Hundred Examples from the Mimi and Raymond Hung Collection, New York, 1996, p. 50-51, no. 5.

The overall condition is good. There are some minor filled repairs and a single vertical patch to the exterior of one leg and an old path repair to the 'knot' on one of the frames. The transverse stretchers have been replaced. All joints have been consolidated and there is the usual wear and some small chips to the feet.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

These sophisticated stools have a number of features that make them unique. The entire form is one of rounded edges and surfaces, with a lobed seating frame, wide bowed legs and double-hoof feet, highlighted to the best advantage by dramatically grained huanghuali. 

The bowed legs rise to a wide apron and rounded edge seat frame of sweeping curves not usually found in seating furniture. Most stools are basically boxes, square forms created for stability. These stools are masculine, bold and animated, incorporating clever visual illusions. The stools’ double-conjoined legs rise to a wide seat-frame, leaving the viewer wondering if each stool is actually not one, but a pair of stacked stools, nesting together in a tight unit with legs slotted beneath a removable seat-frame. 

Illusion in Chinese furniture is mostly confined to the simulation of materials, such as huanghuali carved to simulate bamboo, or painted lacquer imitating fabric or other materials, or metamorphic tables and other forms that have an ingenious construction that enables them to be one form or another depending on need.

This pair of stools however departs from these types. The design is playful, leading to questions about how they can be separated, how were they made, and where did the design originate? The cabinetmaker created these to be purposely ambiguous to draw a response from the viewer.

An example of this form is illustrated by Marcus Flacks in Classical Chinese Furniture: A Very Personal Point of View, London, 2011, pp. 106-107. Other examples incorporate elements of these stools, such as double-hoof feet, shown in a demilune table illustrated ibid. pp. 248-249 or the conjoined legs of another tall table illustrated ibid. pp. 244 and 245.