Folding Roundback Armchair

Folding Roundback Armchair, late 16th century, Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton, 98.80.3

One of the oldest in existence, this folding chair has been called a “drawing in space.” Its elegant design combines the opposing forces of pulling and pushing to support weight. Reserved for persons of high rank, folding chairs were used as portable thrones for emperors. They represent the high point of the Chinese hardwood furniture tradition—which used neither glue nor nails.

 Print This Page

This entry was posted in Did You Know?. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Name *

Email *

Website

CAPTCHA Code *

Comment

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>