Wood Jiali Chair

Arms out, back straight, a scroll at each end: the chair version of a polite bow.

This Jiali chair is a 20th century piece from the Primitive Collection, made of sand blasted elm wood. The arched aprons beneath the seat, sometimes called spandrels, both brace the legs and soften the box of the frame. Above, the horseshoe rail bends in a single arc from scroll to scroll, held by curved posts and a slender splat. The seat panel sits within a raised frame, and stretchers run low between the legs. Sandblasting has lifted the grain across the warm brown surface. It is 22.5 inches long, 17.5 deep and 30 high.

Comfortable, if a little formal, like a good host.