Chinese Yoke Back Armchair

The chair is new. The posture it demands is several hundred years old.

This yoke back armchair is contemporary, made in Shanxi Province, China, in mahogany. The yoke back is a classical Chinese chair form, named for its crest rail and long associated with scholars and officials, for whom sitting upright was its own kind of statement. A long crest rail with upturned ends tops a single broad, curved splat. Slim round posts and arms frame a recessed seat. Below it, humpbacked stretchers and a low foot rail keep the structure light. The wood is very dark, with a soft sheen. It stands 45.5 inches high and 24 long.

Slouching remains an option elsewhere.