Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
In history, China moved from an original floor culture to high chairs and tables, developing a unique tradition of craftsmanship. Although still relatively unexplored, the manufacturing and styles of furniture differ by region. <br><br>These horseshoe-back armchairs were made in Jiangsu province. Their simplicity and minimalist elegance are characteristic of Suzhou-style furniture and aesthetics. The backs of the chairs are made of seven pieces of wood, joined and secured with an inserted wooden pin, a mortise-tenon technique that appeared in its earliest form in Neolitihic fragments of the Hemudu culture.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
132964
label
Pair of Roundback Armchairs: Lohan Type
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
132964
contentType
object
title
Pair of Roundback Armchairs: Lohan Type
description
In history, China moved from an original floor culture to high chairs and tables, developing a unique tradition of craftsmanship. Although still relatively unexplored, the manufacturing and styles of furniture differ by region. <br><br>These horseshoe-back armchairs were made in Jiangsu province. Their simplicity and minimalist elegance are characteristic of Suzhou-style furniture and aesthetics. The backs of the chairs are made of seven pieces of wood, joined and secured with an inserted wooden pin, a mortise-tenon technique that appeared in its earliest form in Neolitihic fragments of the Hemudu culture.
date
1600–1700s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80025084
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 85.4 x 58.4 cm (33 5/8 x 23 in.); Chair: 86 x 63.5 x 47 cm (33 7/8 x 25 x 18 1/2 in.)
cul
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
accession
1955.4
Source extras
tec
Rosewood (huanghuali)
tombstone
Pair of Roundback Armchairs: Lohan Type (黃花梨圈椅), 1600–1700s. China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Rosewood (huanghuali); overall: 85.4 x 58.4 cm (33 5/8 x 23 in.); chair: 86 x 63.5 x 47 cm (33 7/8 x 25 x 18 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1955.40
titleInOriginalLanguage
黃花梨圈椅
collection
China - Ming Dynasty
didYouKnow
The existence of such chairs in pairs suggests that they were used in more formal settings reserved for important guests and family members of age and high status.
citations
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “Chinese Domestic Furniture.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 44, no. 3, 1957, pp. 48–53.
page_number
Reprodued: p. 50
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 873
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 268
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 268
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 355
citation
Ball, Victoria Kloss. <em>Architecture and Interior Design</em>. New York: Wiley, 1980.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 354, fig. 7.23
citation
Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield. <em>Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Chʼing Dynasties</em>. New Fairfield, CT: Robert H. Ellsworth, 1997.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 241, Chair #19; Reproduced: p. 128
citation
Whiton, Augustus Sherrill, and Stanley Abercrombie.<em> Interior Design & Decoration</em>. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002.
page_number
Reproduced: Fig. 11-11, p. 249
citation
"Stories from Storage." <em>The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries </em>24, i. 5 (May 2021): 6–7.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 6–7
citation
Spee, Clarissa von. “Have a Seat! From Floor Culture to Furniture of Ming and Qing Dynasty China.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 14–15.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 14; Mentioned: pp. 14–15
citation
Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. <em>China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta</em>. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 268–269, no. 123
creditline
The Norweb Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:50:29.163000
sourceId
132964
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Ming Dynasty
med
Rosewood (huanghuali)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b0e730a4345e23c0