Antique Mandarin Ancestor In Horseshoe Chair, China (19054BOK) $850

Description

Mandarin-officials were very highly regarded bureaucratic scholars serving the government of Imperial China and were often honored by their family descendants who included ancestor-figures in Mandarin officials-attire on the family home altar or shrine from the Ming Dynasty through the Qing (aka Manchu) Dynasty. As part of ancestor-worship these figures were the highest form of filial piety.This official sits in a formal pose on a well-defined high back horseshoe chair carved in the round, with cabriole legs, arched back and carved dowel supports set on a high elaborate pedestal. During the Qing,  horseshoe chairs were “markers of high status, seats of honour” (Clunis, p. 14) which, along with the pedestal indicates his high status. He is dressed in compulsory officials-attire: a solid-color calf-length center-fastening surcoat with buttons down the open front (changshan) to reveal a plain long gown (nei tao), informal wear, called “half dress” which meant that he did not have to wear his badge of rank at that time. His Mandarin conical summer official’s headwear (qing guanmao) is made of finely carved woven split bamboo rattan. The pedestal is covered with inscriptions made when it was consecrated that is too faded to read except for a brief phrase saying February 18th, from 1 am to 3 am,  and another phrase  “long live forever.”

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Sources:

Craig Clunis, “Chinese Furniture,” Victoria and Albert Publications, London, 1988.

Valery M. Garrett, “A Collector’s Guide to Chinese Dress Accessories,” Singapore, Times Editions

Valery Garret, Chinese Clothing, An Illustrated Guide.” Hong Kong, Oxford University Press, 1994.