This may well be true, but if so, one wonders why they were valued at just $1000-1500, as was another lot from this collection, a painting table of similar age which went on to sell for $38,000 (£20,540).
Estimate knocked into an $85,000 official’s hat
HIGH spot of the Asian works of art section of Skinners’ July 17 sale in Boston was an $85,000 (£49,945) bid on a pair of 16th/17th century, cane-seated hardwood ‘Official’s Hat’ chairs from the collection of Professor James Hightower. In a post-sale announcement, Skinners Asian specialist described them as “quintessential examples... and undoubtedly the finest pair of hat chairs to have come on the market in decades”.