Chinese Armchair with Rattan Inset

A tall back, upturned crest rail and the posture of a scholar in mid-lecture.

This armchair with rattan inset comes from China and is contemporary, in elm wood and rattan. Its form follows the classic Chinese yokeback armchair, sometimes called an official's hat chair, a design refined during the Ming dynasty. The tall frame carries a gently curved crest rail with upturned ends and a broad, plain back splat showing the elm's figured grain. Curved arms rest on short posts, and the seat is woven rattan. Shaped aprons and stretchers join the straight legs. The wood is a warm reddish brown. It is 23.5 inches long, 18 deep and 43.5 high.

Good posture, enforced politely.