Pair of rose chairs Huanghuali wood Late Ming to Early Qing (1600–1700)

The rectangular top rail decorated with a series of mouldings is mitred, mortised and tenoned to the stiles which continue through the seat-frame to become the back legs. The arms are mitred, mortised and tenoned to the stiles and to the posts, which also continue through the seat to become the legs. The arch-shaped beaded-edged apron of the chair back, carved with angular spirals, is tongue-and-grooved into the top rail, stiles and tenoned to a horizontal stretcher below. There are three pillar-shaped struts between the stretcher and the seat frame. Similar arched aprons, stretchers and struts are below the armrests. The posts, stiles, armrests and horizontal stretchers are similarly decorated with a series of mouldings as the top rail. The seat frame of standard mitred, mortised and tenoned construction, supported by two curved transverse stretchers underneath, was drilled for soft seat and is now restored with old matting. The edge of the seat frame is similarly moulded as the posts and stiles. There are exposed tenons on the short sides. Beneath the seat, the beaded-edged curvilinear shaped apron, carved with beautiful tendrils, is tongue-and-grooved to the legs and butt-joined to the underside of the seat frame. There are similar shaped, beaded-edged aprons on the sides while the back one is plain and high. Between
the front legs is a shaped footrest and below it a plain shaped apron. Moulded stretchers join the legs, all with exposed tenons. There are also plain shaped aprons on the sides. Metal mounts are fitted to the floor feet.

Kai-Yin Lo Collection, Hong Kong

Singapore, 1997 – 1999, Asian Civilisations Museum, “The Chinese Collection”
Hong Kong, 2007, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, “Feast by a wine table reclining on a couch: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture III”
Hong Kong, 2012, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, “Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections”

National Heritage Board, Asian Civilisations Museum: The Chinese Collection, Singapore, 1997, plate 124
Catherine Maudsley (ed.), Classical and Vernacular Chinese Furniture in the Living Environment, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 125
Grace Wu Bruce, Feast by a wine table reclining on a couch: The Dr. S. Y. Yip Collection of Classic Chinese Furniture III, Hong Kong, 2007, pp. 32 – 33
Grace Wu Bruce, Grace Wu Bruce presents a choice selection of Ming Furniture from the Dr S Y Yip collections, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 34 – 35

Rose chairs are one of three types of classic Ming chair designs. The prototype of rose chairs were already seen in Song paintings like the “Eighteen scholars” where they were used by the literati in halls and gardens.
These chairs are identical to the pair in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and are likely from the same set, published in Craig Clunas, Chinese Furniture, Victoria and Albert Museum Far Eastern Series, London, 1988, p. 30.