A new twist on classic Ming style horse-shoe chairs – introducing the stainless steel Chinese yoke back chair!

I was reading over at Beijing Notebook about these translucent acrylic Chinese horseshoe chairs she saw at the Green T. House in Beijing. With clean and classic Ming style lines, these round backed chairs are a very updated idea on an extremely old concept. Very neat idea – probably not particularly easy to manufacture.

Sometimes, one needs a break from antiques

While admittedly cool, I think these polished stainless steel Chinese officials hat chairs made for Chine Gallery are equally as funky. Known in Chinese as Guān mào yǐ (官帽椅) the name likely comes from the sculpted back which resembles a winged official’s hat.

And with first hand-experience, I can tell you these yoke back chairs are also not very easy to make! (trust me  I have done QC on them and a lot of hand crafting goes into each and every single one. No mass made here thank you very much! Same with these sleek stainless steel  Chinese low back arm chairs known in Chinese as a “Fúshǒu yǐ” (扶手椅).

Reminds me a bit of last years Dynasty Revival exhibit at Lane Crawford. For more interesting contemporary takes on Chinese furniture by contemporary designers try the book  Inspired by China: Contemporary Furnituremakers Explore Chinese Traditions