Furniture

Shanxi, Lhasa, Kyoto, Kumasi: furniture has a long address book. Antique furniture runs from elm altar tables, painted cabinets and Ming-style chairs of China to painted pine chests from Tibet and Mongolia, tansu from Japan and bandaji from Korea, teak and ironwood from Indonesia, and carved and silver-clad pieces from India, with Makrana marble from Rajasthan. From Ethiopia come Oromo and Jimma chairs; from Cameroon and Ghana, Bamileke spider stools and Ashanti stools tied to the legend of the Golden Stool; from Ivory Coast, Senufo daybeds; from Iran, Qashqai kilim-covered pieces. Moroccan camel-bone mirrors, French and Dutch leather seating and contemporary American designs extend the range.

Old Chinese furniture, once plentiful after the Cultural Revolution, has grown scarce; what remains carries lacquer, wear and repairs honestly. Solid elm and carved hardwood give a room weight and grain. A single stool beside a bouclé chair, or an altar table against limewash, can anchor a whole space.