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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>This horseshoe-back armchair was made in Jiangsu province. Its simplicity and minimalist elegance is characteristic of Suzhou-style furniture and aesthetics. The back of the chair is 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 Neolithic fragments of the Hemudu culture.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
132966
label
Roundback Armchair: Lohan Type
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
132966
contentType
object
title
Roundback Armchair: 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>This horseshoe-back armchair was made in Jiangsu province. Its simplicity and minimalist elegance is characteristic of Suzhou-style furniture and aesthetics. The back of the chair is 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 Neolithic fragments of the Hemudu culture.
date
1600s–1700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80025088
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 86 x 58.4 cm (33 7/8 x 23 in.)
cul
China, Jiangsu province, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) or Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
accession
1955.40.2
Source extras
tec
Rosewood (huanghuali)
tombstone
Roundback Armchair: Lohan Type (黃花梨圈椅), 1600s–1700s. China, Jiangsu province, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) or Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Rosewood (huanghuali); overall: 86 x 58.4 cm (33 7/8 x 23 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1955.40.2
titleInOriginalLanguage
黃花梨圈椅
collection
China - Ming Dynasty
formerAccessionNumbers
1955.41
didYouKnow
Similar chairs with low, straight backs were presumably used by women or in a less formal context.
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 06:50:32.606000
sourceId
132966
dept
Chinese Art
coll
China - Ming Dynasty
med
Rosewood (huanghuali)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f319a9d685ca9dfe