47.3×43.7 cm （18 5/8×17 1/4 in）

Each stool has a circular seat frame with rounded outeredge，formed by four curved members secured by pressure-wedged scarf joins. There is a tall curvilinear apron with scrolled cloud-head spandrels below，between four straight legs spreading in a pronounced splay before terminating in disc-shaped feet. Each leg is shaped in profile with scalloped inner edge，pierced with tapered apertures and，below a central curled C-shape，tenoned with flattened cross-braces between the legs.
From the 15th to the 18th century，the majority of Chinese domestic furniture was specifically custom-made to the taste and design of the householder. The present pair is the paradigm for this tradition of custom design：their conception is extremely unusual when compared with the standard forms of in the so-called 'classical' style.
Although very few comparable forms have been published，the style may be related to lamp-stands which have sharply curved or splayed feet secured with foot-stretchers. A householder who was commissioning these stools to match a room with such stands may have requested that foot-stretchers be omitted from the design since they would be inconvenient on low-seat furniture with splayed legs.
The pronounced height of the aprons and the fact that all the decorative detailing appears within the internal volume beneath the stool compounds enhances its experimental feel；the stool may have been better proportioned if the cushion molding to the seat frame was doubled up，thereby balancing the effect of the large ruyi-motifs at the apron-spandrels.
—Robert H. Ellsworth （Chinese Funiture：The Hung Collection）

The design of the arm of the horseshoe-back armchair is usually resolved in one of two orthodox ways：the front posts of the armrail eicher continue directly through the front seat rail to form the leg or they extend beyond the front leg to form handrests，as on the excellent example of a standard type seen here.
standard joinery techniques are used on this chair to create a five-section back connected by pressure-wedged scarf joins and supported by two rear circular-section uprights. The uprights continue through the seat rail to form the back legs. The front legs are of similar construction，but are square in section beneath the seat rail. The legs are tenoned into the underside of the arm. A carved，molded spandrel is tongue and grooved into the arm post and the underside of the everted handrests. The arm is further supported by tapering S-shaped braces that extend from the arm to the seat rail. An S-curved splat，Which is tenoned into the underside of the top rail and into the back edge of the seat frame，is deeply carved with a ju-yi-shaped medallion enclosing a buoyant ch'i-lin，a mythical animal that is the harbinger of good fortune，and a ribbon-tied double gourd. On the edge of the splat flanking the medallion are two shaped spandrels with molded edges.
The seat frame is of standard mitered，mortise-and-tenoned，frame construction，drilled for a soft seat and now with a hard seat，and with two tenoned and half-lapped transverse braces. The outer edge of the seat frame curves gently down to a square-shoulder molding below，with tenons exposed in the short rails. The stretchers are of standard box construction，arranged in ascending heights from the worn foot rail to the sides and rear stretchers，all of which have exposed tenons. The mitered front apron is carved with a cusped，molded edge and scrolling，entwined tendrils on the upper section and a plain，shaped，molded edge on the uprights. The front apron is tongue and grooved into the legs and butt-joined to the underside of the seat frame，side aprons are similar in design and construction. The apron beneath the foot rail is tongue and grooved into the inside edge of the legs.
—Robert H. Ellsworth （Chinese Funiture：The Hung Collection）

Price estimate:
HKD：2,300,000-3,300,000
USD：296,000-424,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 2,950,000