Classical Chinese furniture is commonly referred to as a variety of pieces from the late fourteenth century to the early twentieth century during the Ming and Qing dynasties. This includes Chinese chairs, tables, cabinets, bed frames, and other furnishings of home settings usage.

Chinese Antique Chair

Antique Chinese chairs in the modern Western interior are surprisingly home.  It has graceful proportions and a slender silhouette; Ming and Qing dynasties' yoke back chairs offer an elegant way to bring a historical piece to the home. The attractive design and slender elegance were especially appealing to the Ming Dynasty elite. The most modern aspect of the chair is its wide center-back splat, which influenced the western furniture of the Queen Anne era. The chair is usually seen in the shape of its round or horseshoe-back. They were famous in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties around the 16th and 17th centuries and favored by contemporary interiors. The traditional Chinese yoke-back chair is also known as the official hat chair, and the lamp hanger chair has been around since the 11th century.

Chinese Chippendale Chair

Chippendale, a variety of furniture fashion styles named after English cabinet maker Thomas Chippendale in the third quarter of the 18th century. In England, the first style of furniture was named after the cabinet maker instead of the monarch; it became the most famous name in the history of English furniture when such crafts were at their peak.

Chippendale design comes in three main styles: Gothic, Rococo, and Chinese. Chippendale combined these different stylist elements into harmonious and unified designs. Chippendale refers to English furniture from the 1750s and 60s, which was made in a modified Rococo style. Rococo Chippendale was a reaction somewhat to the heavy formality of baroque furniture design, solidified by the work of William Kent, who died in 1748. Many Rococo designers were French, but Chippendale converted some of them to a less flamboyant English market. These also have French chairs based on Louis XV design.

Chinese Traditional Chair

In China, the ancient people made the first piece of furniture for people to sit on: the floor mat. A variety of wooden furniture designs were made around the seating mat, such as small wooden desks for laps, small tables, and chopping boards with legs. Wealthy Chinese sat on the platforms.

Chinese furniture has its distinguishing features:

  • Yolk chairs with a bottom stretcher for feet rest.
  • Use of thick lacquer finish
  • Day beds
  • Exotic hardwood
  • Opium beds where one can sit and use a table to eat by sitting on a mat.
  • Use of meditation chairs that were large enough to sit.
  • Detailed paintings for ceremonial purposes and artistic expression, images of the sacred mountain, dragons and clouds, birds, and flowers with specific meaning.

Furniture now is widely considered Chinese in style as it has the same appearance as furniture in Tang Dynasty. As the power and status of the Chinese elite increased, the height of the furniture began to rise along with it. For the wealthy elite, the Tang dynasty's furniture makers began to use high-round and yoke back chairs. Beautiful ceramics and porcelain appeared, such as ceramic horses that are still popular in reproduction.