Chinese Comb Back Children's Chair with Umbrella Notch, circa 1800

These low children's chairs from northern China are designed in a traditional style known as a "yoke-back chair," defined by its tall back, flat back yoke, and protruding top crest r...

Prior to the 10th century, Chinese society eschewed raised seats in favour of mats. The rising popularity of chairs and other forms of elevated seating led craftsmen to adapt traditional cabinetry and architecture techniques to the human body. In the case of this Yuanyi, or round chair, the flowing crest rail is a direct descendant of the simple armrests that had traditionally supported individuals on mats in their homes. This homage to an ancestral form, combined with traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery techniques, created an elegant, functional chair that has endured for centuries and inspired many contemporary furniture designers...

A Dutch-colonial Indonesian small Albizia adoratissima, Nangka and Ambalo wood Lady’s tambour bureau with silver mounts Batavia (Jakarta) or Palembang, late 18th century H. 129.5 x W. 70 x D. 39 cm The tambour desk or bureau a` cilindre came into fashion in the Dutch East Indies of the late 18th century, when French forms prevailed in the Netherlands. The carvings on the apron and the stiles on the sides and at the top of the central stile are typical Indonesian designs. This small piece of furniture is not a miniature but was probably used as a regular bureau-cabinet by colonial society women of Indonesian-European descent. They usually are smaller than European women and often didn’t use chairs but sat or kneeled, and even slept on the floor for coolness. Earlier that century Dutch-colonial Indonesian and Cape Dutch...

Wrought Iron Children's Tricycle, Circa 1900