PALACE
FOLDING
CHAIRS
Art No. P103
height 103cm
length of seat 60cm
width of seat 43cm
PALACE FOLDING CHAIRS (Jiao Yi)
The folding chair, perhaps because of its connotation of antiquity, remained a grand seat from the 16th to 18th centuries.
Folding chairs appear regularly in 'ancestor portraits', the formal posthumous painting necessary for family and clan cults. But a Jiao Yi 'folding chair' was also an article of convenience, its portability making it suitable for casual games of chess in the garden. Jiao Yi were also used for dining and very often used to cope with an influx of honoured, yet unexpected, guests.