@yinchris Hello!

Folding campaign chairs should have arms. Yours is a folding side chair, which is a design I’ve not seen… that’s likely an indication of being a modern design.

The wood has angular edges on the top rail if the back (what is sometimes used as a lantern hanger), and one would expect a much smoother curved finish.

The carving of the back support has similar rough/angular cuts.

The wood looks soft, probably elm.

I will post this as i only read it by chance a few days back. I am not sure if it will help. 

https://www.christies.com/features/Ming-dynasty-folding-chair-10037-7.aspx?sc_lang=en

https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6318684

Isn’t this a hunting chair?

Difficult to determine by way of the pictures but my feeling is that this chair is modern. Post republican period. So not old. The wood is unrecognizable but definitely not Huanghuali or Zitan. 

I would personally not buy this one. 

Mark 

Maybe it was for the clerk to use and only the boss got arms for his chair, very interesting design.

Thanks everyone for your inputs, I love porcelain (breakable stuff) and my husband loves Chinese furniture. With tons of porcelains at home now, he thinks we need to match those up..... so got a few pieces, I will post them each one.....We know nothing about wood, would love to learn them. 

@greeno107, Tim,  I found this one and do NOT think mines that old. And what elm wood like (color? style)? or touch? characteristic?  Thank you!

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/56369

I like yours Yin, even if it isn't that old. 😊 I don't know if this helps but I was told on the forum a while aback that this wood is elm:

@yinchris I highly recommend buying Chinese furniture as it is both extremely function, suitable for both modern and traditional design, and holds its value if you buy hardwood (jichimu, teilimu, hualimu, huanghuali, zitan).  Soft wood furniture, unless a very rare design, has not performed well among collectors/auctions, so it can be pretty, but not much of an investment.

Admittedly, I have not seen these folding chairs without arms, so it was a nice to learn that the design is a known classical design that dates back to the Ming.  To date, in the past 10 years, I've never seen one come through any major auction house, so they must be quite rare - perhaps the addition of arms made the armless ones less desirable.

The photo from the MET is black and white, so it is hard to judge what type of wood, but I would guess it is either zitan or huanghuali.  My guess is based in part on the collectablility of these two woods, but also on the quality of the carving.

Hardwoods are dense, so they carve very cleanly without chipping. So, a carver can create curves and fine details without risk of damaging the wood, and over time, the wood retains these fine details.

Softwoods (elm, camphor, cedar) chip more easily, and fine detail wears out from use / handling due to normal deteriorization of the pulpy surface which is susceptable water/moisture, dirt, etc.

So, take a look at the photo of the back of the chair that I borrowed from the MET next to the photo of the back of your chair.

With the MET chair, I've circled in red areas of the carving which I think show how well the smooth and finely carved details still remain in a chair estimated to be roughly 500 years old.

With your chair, I've circled in red areas of the carving that show sharp/straight carving marks, excessive wear due to the soft nature of the wood, and generally inferior quality of detail.

It is possible to find old softwood chairs, but it has been my experience that genuine antique softwood furniture is badly damaged from daily use unless it was part of a collection for a long period of time.  For this reason, I think your chair is at least 20th c.  Regardless, softwood furniture, even antique, does not have much monetary value and is not highly sought after by collectors (with some exceptions).

These characteristics are what I use to determine whether or not a chair is old and of good quality when assessing photos. I'm never 100% sure with my identification without physical examination, but I'm fairly good at this.

Most recently, I purchased a 4 panel zitan screen that will be in the 2022 Fall sale at Christie's.  The screen was being sold at an estate sale, but the lighting was very poor and I could not clearly see the color of the wood, so my decision to buy was based upon the quality of the carving.

Zitan is highly prized for having a purple black color, and twisted grain that some think simulates the appearance of rhinocerous horn. 

Here is a small sample of one panel of my screen.

Huanghuali is perhaps more popular amount Chinese furntiture collectors because of its amber color and striking grain, as well as displaying some very modern design elements despite pieces being 200-300 years old.  I've sold this piece already, but here is a low table I bought at an estate sale using the same photo assessment techniques.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/23676403@N07/albums/72157715797998642

I wish you luck finding quality antique Chinese furniture!  There are far less fakes than there are porcelains and the such, so it can be very rewarding once you get the hang of identifying the wood.

Best of luck!

Great advice on wood carvings by @Greeno107.

The only thing that I would add is that a lot of so-called Ming or Qing period Huanghuali furniture is butchered with different periods added or removed. 

So unless you know exactly what you are looking at one must proceed with caution. Hence a lot of buyers want good provenance. 

Ming Huanghuali is astronomically expensive and is nearly impossible to find outside of major collections or major auction houses.

Late Qing to early republic period is still very affordable and will only increase dramatically over the next decade or so. It makes for good daily use and is pleasant to look at. And a sound investment for the future in my opinion. 

Mark 

Thanks Tim and Mark for the detailed information. Love this group and glad to have you guys here. Will post anther chair. Thanks.

Yin

This chair is from the Naxi minority (纳西族) in southwestern China's Yunnan province. Or at least that is what the style is. Assuming it is not a reproduction, then woods used in that region are mostly Chinese fir, pine and walnut (Chinese walnut). Yours doesn't look like pine or fir so probably Chinese walnut - the weight and sound when you tap it will tell you, as Chinese walnut is a much harder wood. I have sold a few of them over the years. I will attach an image here. 

@greeno107  @yinchris @short-dong this is not a modern design. In fact, this design dates quite a way back (song-liao or earlier) and we do see this form in ancient paintings. You are likely just accustomed to seeing the hunters chairs with arms that appear in auction houses like Christies and Southeby's which is the form that "gets more attention." Although actually even those designs are almost a thousand years old. Folding stools with no backs date back even further. 

 @imperialfinegems - it would be rare for these ethnic minorities to use such precious imported hardwoods as huanghuali or zitan. These were not wealthy major urban centers. Most furniture from that region is crafted using local materials. Pine, fir, walnut and bamboo. Also a certain level of careful artistic detail attention and precision went with the crafting of those rare hardwoods. In Chinese we call this "huanghuali craftsmanship" (黄花梨工) and this term applies to other precious hardwoods. This chair does not exhibit 黄花梨工 .

As for age cannot tell without better images. There are portions that look new which could either mean replacements during restoration or reproduction. Difficult to tell without closer inspection, especially considering restorers in the south (Zhuhai / Zhongshan were major export centers in the past 20 years) over-restored things so perfectly that its not uncommon for a piece to look almost brand new. Most likely over-restored.

 kel