A PAIR OF CHINESE HARDWOOD THRONE CHAIRS, LATE QING, circa 1870
Extensivley carved with playful Buddhistic lions amidst blossom and dragons in combat, the arms carved as dragons with curling tails, on scroll legs carved with cloud scrolls, 67cm wide x 113cm high.
Provenance: Acquired by Henry Joseph Hunt, Esq. in Shanghai between 1860-1880, Tea Merchant Agent for Jardine and Matheson,
and thence by descent
| Condition Report: |
click here
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| Estimate: |
£1,000 - £2,000
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Hammer price:
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£1,400 |
Bidding ended. Lot has been sold.
These two Dragon Chairs were acquired by Henry Joseph Hunt ( 1837-1918), who travelled out to China from Bristol in 1865, living in Shanghai from 1865-67 where he was a commercial agent for Jardine Matheson. He later moved to Japan where he built up a flourishing import/export business, trading principally in tea, retiring to Camberley in England.
He amassed a sizeable collection of oriental
antiques, including lacquered furniture and netsukes. He was a close friend of
Rudyard Kipling who stayed with him in Japan and two families corresponded for
many years. Their letters have recently been donated to the Kipling Society.
His residence in Nagasaki - The Glover Mansion is now a museum, an
important surviving example of a Western-style residence built for the
foreign merchant community. The two chairs probably formed part of
the original furnishings during his residency..
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