18TH CENTURY

Unlike upholstered furniture, chairs in China were only temporarily covered with textiles, and chair panels such as the present pair were designed specifically for this purpose. Each panel is divided into four distinct design sections that conform to the shape of a traditional Chinese chair. The upper section, decorated with a shou character (longevity) and double peaches, would have been draped over the top rail; the peacock and rocks would have formed the back panel; the stylized lotus would have covered the seat; and the dragon emerging from waves would have adorned the front overhang.

The peaches, shou character, and bats decorating the upper section of these panels are all auspicious symbols of longevity and immortality, suggesting that they may have been made for birthday celebrations. A related pair of eighteenth-century chair panels, also set against a gold ground and decorated at the top with peaches, a shou character, and bats, is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession nos. 65.210.1 and 65.210.2).