Pair of horse shoe chairs

Pair newly made, black lacquered with patches of red brown in places where old chairs are usually weathered by usage. The back has decorative wood carving of a rose. Horseshoe Back Armchairs (‘quanyi’) were a symbol of power and status, used in ceremonies or reserved for important guests to the Chinese home. The curved backrest gives the chair its name, and would usually be made from 5 pieces of curved wood joined together with pegged joints. The chair would have a curved back splat, again often decorated in carved relief with a Chinese symbol for wealth, good luck or long life.