HARDBACK

Unlike other Asian cultures of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese did not sit on the floor. The simple fact that the Manchu invaders imported highly flexible furniture from their yurts influenced the development of Chinese design and decorative arts. Within a few years of the Manchu invasion, Chinese craftsmen combined their highly refined design aesthetic with extraordinary exotic woods, veneers, and lacquer to create some of the finest furniture ever made. "Classical Chinese Furniture" illuminates this fascinating and little-known area of Chinese decorative art.