An Indonesian teak wood round-back chair

Indonesia/Jakarta (Batavia), late 19th century
The wood elegantly carved and curved, the round back and seat with cane.
H. 86 x W. 62 cm Seat height 42.5 cm
Round back chairs, starting with the burgomaster chairs in the late 17th century and later chairs called krossie bakoe (tub chairs) in Java, were possibly originally based on Chinese models. The present round back chair however is clearly of French late 18th century Rococo taste. This model was very popular with the Dutch in Batavia at the end of the 18th century, perhaps because it allowed European men and women to air their armpits in the hot tropical climate as the older round-back chairs also did. There are some depictions of long rows of the present type chairs on the open verandahs of large colonial houses in Indonesia.