Treasuring Resources, “Hymn of Love” – A Huanghuali Armchair

A Huanghuali Armchair

Comfort and beauty are equally important to a chair.

The Zitan painting table has a sound provenance and is masculine built. Based on the original dimensions, the chair would have been too small to match the painting table. Minute changes and differences are carefully refined, while the essence, practical value and the ideal combination of chair and table dimension are maintained.

It’s extremely difficult to reproduce this Ming-style work to perfection: it’s so thin and light that appears carrying little weight.

Original (Second Left) exhibited on the fifth floor Furniture Hall, Shanghai Museum

The Original Huanghuali armchair housed in Shanghai Museum

To accurately reproduce each curve and line, the team visited the Shanghai Museum more than ten times, and made several models. The team members carefully examined the original in an attempt to spot the differences down to the millimeter.

The models were continuously improved to deliver the best form, ideal proportion and the most satisfactory seat height and lines.

The second model was 1.5 cm higher than the first model to generate a more coordinated height ratio between the seat and the upper part of the chair.

The third model (left) was designed with a back panel width 0.5cm greater than that of the second model (right), resulting in a better ratio between the back panel and the space between the two legs.

he second model (right) had the pigtail arc adjusted to give a fuller and more powerful curve.

The final model was completed!

Yet more problems arose!

这个椅子的靠背弧度也非常的大，一般的老料没有这么厚，开不出这么大的弧度，有这么厚的材料可能有虫眼、腐烂、开裂等问题，所以一直没有找到完美的背板。

We set out for Hainan Province and Guangzhou several times to search for proper materials, yet returned empty-handed. There were three times that we contacted the suppliers and had them ship the materials. After a careful inspection we found them to be defective, and had to give them up and start all over again. Frankly, we became madmen, mobilizing all resources to search for the right materials, including going from one shop to another and praying! Two years passed in this way!

he second model (right) had the pigtail arc adjusted to give a fuller and more powerful curve.

Praying probably proved effective. One of our good friends couldn’t bear to see us like that and seized a piece of Huanghuali from his friend. Finally, we made this back panel. We were extremely nervous before cutting and delighted by the result. It was an old piece of Huanghuali with the exact length and width that we wanted; featuring minor cracks on the top and bottom on one side. We were unsure of how deep the cracks ran before cutting. It turned out that the first panel was perfect on the front and the second panel was flawless, with a large spiral pattern right in the middle. We were elated!

The beautiful large spiral pattern on the back splat panel of Huanghuali Chair is the best reward for years of persistence.

Huanghuali Armchair (detail)

Triangle Shoulder Joint Rosewood Table with Cloud Pattern Apron produced by Jiqingtang

At last the work was completed, giving a perfect interpretation to the ultimate beauty and refinement of Ming-style Huanghuali Armchair. It’s so light that it can almost fly!