The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Roundback Armchair: Lohan Type

Roundback Armchair: Lohan Type

1600s-1700s
(1368-1644) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Rosewood (huanghuali)
Overall: 86 x 58.4 cm (33 7/8 x 23 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1955.40.2
Location: 003 Special Exhibition Hall

Did You Know?

Similar chairs with low, straight backs were presumably used by women or in a less formal context.

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.

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 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, no. 5: 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
  • 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).
  • {{cite web|title=Roundback Armchair: Lohan Type|url=false|author=|year=1600s-1700s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1955.40.2