Seating Chairs

Leather laced across a hardwood frame, the way Oromo chairmakers did it. Antique and contemporary chairs here come from Ethiopia, West and Central Africa, China, India and Europe. Oromo chairs have cowhide or plaited leather seats, and Jimma chairs, carved from a single block of wood, come from Ethiopia and from the Tabwa of Congo and Zambia. A Baga chair from Guinea carries an equestrian motif, and Rajasthan sends Makrana marble armchairs with jali screens.

Chinese elm armchairs from Guangdong and a Shanghai deco chair in rattan sit near a Dutch Queen Anne style chair and wing back lounge chairs in sheep leather. Newer designs include the Kuba, Kebe and Khartoum chairs, carved side chairs and a few contemporary armchairs. Pull an Oromo chair into a reading corner, or set mismatched chairs around a long table and let them sort it out. A good chair is mostly a matter of where it puts the elbows.