This Is One of the Rarest Chairs in the World

At first glance, it's just a folding chair, disarmingly simple. But how did this chair from the 17th century come to represent status, luxury, royalty? And why is it now considered one of the rarest chairs in the world? In Chinese, there's a phrase, di yi ba jiao yi, taking the first cross chair. It means claiming the highest seat in the room. This is that chair. Folding seats have existed in China for nearly 1,000 years. You can spot them in Song and Yuan paintings, but they were often humble works of furniture, made for outings in nature or long trips across the empire. By the Ming dynasty, however, the easy-to-carry folding frame and the comfortable curved back were combined into one. The horseshoe-back folding chair was born. The arching crestrail cradles the sitter like a crescent moon, while the woven seat provides soft, flexible cushion. Metal braces strengthen the joinery, allowing the frame to fold and open with ease. Then, the design reached a new peak, when carpenters used a precious and exotic hardwood, huang hua li. Dense, fragrant, with a luminous golden-brown color and distinctly figured grain, huang hua li came to be reserved for the most luxurious furniture. In a rigidly hierarchical society, that luxury carried a clear message. No longer a humble perch, the folding chair became a projection of status, even royalty. Servants carry it on trips. Officials hold court from it. The Qianlong emperor even receives foreign envoys while seated upon one. A throne on the go. This is where Chinese furniture reaches its pinnacle. A single object, light enough to travel, weighty enough to define power. Yet, the folding mechanism and the fact that they were so often collapsed for travel made them prone to damage. Today, fewer than 30 horseshoe-backed folding chairs from the Ming dynasty are known to survive. Among them, very few carry this level of intricate openwork carving. It's a survivor of chance that has outlasted the rise and fall of dynasties. Emperors, ministers, and scholars have come and gone. The chair remains.