Chinese Footstool with Woven Seat

Small stool whose seat is a woven lattice of cut-out diamonds in a rounded frame.

This footstool with woven seat is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the late 19th century. It is elm wood & leather. Once China slowly opened to visiting diplomats and businessmen, a trickle of antique furniture leaving the country became a flood that lasted through the 1980s, the 1990s and into the early 2000s. Thick rounded border frames an open diamond-pattern center. Below, a straight apron, a stretcher between the legs and splayed feet with visible wear. The color is golden brown, with pronounced grain and a few chips. It is 18 inches long, 14 deep and 11 high.

Holes in the seat, and not a single complaint.