The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Pair of Roundback Armchairs: Lohan Type

1600–1700s

China, Ming dynasty

(1368-1644) or 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 Norweb Collection 1955.40
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

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.

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.

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 mortar-tenon technique that appeared in its earliest form in Neolitihic fragments of the Hemudu culture.
  • George N. Kates [1895–1990]
    ?–1955
    Mrs. R. Henry [Emery May Holden] Norweb [1895–1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1955–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Chinese Domestic Furniture.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 44, no. 3, 1957, pp. 48–53. Reprodued: p. 50 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 873 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 268 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 268 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 355 archive.org
    Ball, Victoria Kloss. Architecture and Interior Design. New York: Wiley, 1980. Reproduced: p. 354, fig. 7.23
    Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield. Chinese Furniture: Hardwood Examples of the Ming and Early Chʼing Dynasties. New Fairfield, CT: Robert H. Ellsworth, 1997. Mentioned: p. 241, Chair #19; Reproduced: p. 128
    Whiton, Augustus Sherrill, and Stanley Abercrombie. Interior Design & Decoration. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. Reproduced: Fig. 11-11, p. 249
    "Stories from Storage." The Asian Art Newspaper: Monthly for Collectors, Dealers, Museums and Galleries 24, i. 5 (May 2021): 6–7. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 6–7
    Spee, Clarissa von. “Have a Seat! From Floor Culture to Furniture of Ming and Qing Dynasty China.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 1 (Winter 2021): 14–15. Reproduced: p. 14; Mentioned: pp. 14–15
    Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 268–269, no. 123
  • China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10, 2023-January 7, 2024).
    Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
    World Cultures and Modern Art: The Encounter of 19th and 20th Century European Art and Music with Asia, Africa, Oceania, Afro- and Indo-America. Organisationskomitee fur die Spiele der XX. Olympiade, Munich, Germany (organizer) (May 15-September 30, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Pair of Roundback Armchairs: Lohan Type|url=false|author=|year=1600–1700s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.40