Round backed chairs
These are generally much more comfortable than the straight backed chairs. The square seat remains the same but the back rail offers a continuous support, which slopes downwards supporting the sitter’s back and arms. The finer pieces from the south were exquisitely made by craftsmen as the rounded rear support involved three to five ‘invisibly’ jointed segments of hard wood. These chairs were reserved for important members of the household and for ceremonial occasions. The round curving arms gave the sitter an air of imperial dignity and so it came to be that these chairs were considered as the perfect position for posing for one's portrait! Due to their shape they became known by westerners in China at that period as ‘Horse shoe backed arm chairs’. Vernacular versions of the round-backed chair were larger, more ‘rustic’ in design and were made of willow. The rounded back was made of one piece of willow which was steamed and then bowed to form the horse shoe shape. Due to their rather humble back ground, these more rustic chairs were sometimes referred to as ‘beggars chairs’