Pair of Low-Back Southern Official Chairs With Carved Backs

Period:Qing Dynasty, China, 1850's

Size:The chairs are 37" high to the top of their backs and 18 1/2" to the top of the seats. The seats are 15 3/4" by 20 1/2".

Description:These are a very beautiful and very unusual pair of chairs. It's special that they have remained together for so long. Made in the 1850's in the Suzhou Province of China,they are jumu (elm) with three black stained sections on the gentle "s"-shaped backs. The top section is carved with calligraphy and one loosely translates to staying in the home in winter and looking at bare mountains. The second is that with the passing of spring, the days are getting longer. The middle sections are carved with an adult, probably a teacher, with two children amid bamboo. The third sections are simple wood. The top rail is humpback and the arms are gentle "s"-curves. The wood has a beautiful patina, finished in French Polish which is layers of lacquer and wax.