ntique Chinese Elm Rustic Farm Stool Waisted Saddle Seat Late Qing 20"H

Antique Chinese Elm Farm Stool — Waisted Saddle-Seat Form, Late Qing Dynasty

China, Late Qing dynasty (circa mid-to-late 19th century)
18.5″L × 14.5″W × 20″H (47 × 37 × 51 cm)

A rustic Chinese farm stool with a thick, waisted saddle-form seat on four splayed, rounded legs joined by stretchers on each side. The top shows genuine age and use — pronounced grain, natural checking, and a traditional black butterfly-key repair set into a crack.

This waisted saddle-seat profile is a classic form in Chinese vernacular furniture, valued today for the sculptural curve worked into a single thick slab rather than a flat, joined seat. Diamond-shaped iron plates reinforcing several leg joints point to practical, working-life repairs rather than later restoration.

Form: Rustic farm stool, waisted saddle-form seat on four splayed legs with double stretchers
Construction/Decoration: Solid elm (or similar hardwood), mortise-and-tenon joinery; black butterfly-key repair in the seat top; iron reinforcement plates at several leg joints
Period: Late Qing dynasty, China (circa mid-to-late 19th century)
Dimensions: 18.5″L × 14.5″W × 20″H (47 × 37 × 51 cm)
Weight:
Condition: Heavy age and use wear throughout, consistent with a working farm piece — natural checking, surface losses, and an old butterfly-key repair to the seat; the iron leg-joint plates read as period repairs, not later additions. Sturdy and stable overall. Various repair visible in photos.