Chinese chair, Toronto, Canada. Photo 1 by Don Tai
Chinese furniture is pretty rare here. You can find them at specialty Chinese furniture shops within Chinese-only malls. This one came to me discarded and in need of repair. I thought it rare and interesting, so wanted to repair and document it.
The chair has no manufacturer marking on it anywhere. It is not of high quality. Seams are showing. There are painting errors, where the painter put too much paint on and left ghastly drips, right on the front of the back rest. A higher quality chair manufacturer would have sanded down the drip and repainted. Not here.
Chinese chair, Potted plant design, Toronto, Canada. Photo 2 by Don Tai
For what it is, a single chair, it is pretty heavy. The wood is a hardwood, and is a dark brown colour. I don’t know of what type. It is sanded smooth and properly painted.
The potted plant design, on either side of the back rest, shows 5 leaved flowers, their vines, but no leaves. There are 7 flowers on the left side but only 5 flowers on the right side. Why are there no leaves, I do not know. Is there some significance for the 7-5 split? The left side 7 are symmetrically positioned, but the right side 5 are asymmetric. The back of the flower design is flat plain and simply painted.
Chinese chair, Potted plant design, rear, Toronto, Canada. Photo 3 by Don Tai
Chinese chair, front edge, Toronto, Canada. Photo 4 by Don Tai
The front edge of the chair is interesting. While Western chairs are square to the person’s legs, meaning that the front edge is flat across the back of the legs, this Chinese chair is triangular at the front. This forces the sitter to splay their legs to either side, encouraging manspread. I suppose women would site kitty corner, or to one side. The sitting surface is more “clubs” shaped, as in a suit in playing cards. The front is shaped to protrude, but is also well rounded.
The seat seems to have a beveled edge, similar to a mirror. The perimeter edges are a single piece of wood each and not molding.
Chinese chair, front view, Toronto, Canada. Photo 5 by Don Tai
The lower cross-members seem to be mortise and tenon, and not rabbeted. It seems pretty strong.
Not a single piece of lumber in this chair is straight, save the underside seat support, which you cannot see. Each of the four legs are sculpted and have a bend out, and then in again. The arms that encircle the top bend around and are also sculpted.
Despite its unique looks, the chair is comfortable, with good back support. there are no manufacturer marking on the chair anywhere, so I cannot chase down the factory. I might look on the interweb.
Chinese chair, supporting cross members under the chair, Toronto, Canada. Photo 6 by Don Tai
