Pooja Chair in Carved Teak with Swan Arms and Red Upholstery

The arms on this chair are straight rails, and they land on a swan's neck. Joining a straight piece of wood to a curved one so that no gap shows is a small job that takes real patience.

A normal tenon shoulder is square - it meets a flat face, and any error shows as a hairline you can close with a shaving. Here the arm rail meets a surface that curves in two directions, and no square shoulder will ever sit against it. Cut the shoulder square and the rail touches at two points with daylight between them, and once the chair is polished that daylight is the first thing anyone sees.

So the shoulder is scribed. The rail is offered up to the finished swan, and a compass is run along the curve with its point on the bird and its pencil on the rail, transferring the exact profile of the curve onto the end of the straight member. The shoulder is then pared back to that line with a chisel, tested, pared again - usually four or five times before it seats without light showing anywhere along it.

It is done twice, once per arm, and neither shoulder can be copied from the other, because no two hand-carved swans curve identically.

Frame: solid teak throughout, hand-carved by master Indian artisans, with traditional joinery at every junction.

Back: shaped carved crest of flowers and foliage around an upholstered panel with studded trim.

Arms: straight arm rails on carved swan-head supports, with matching carved birds set into the sides of the back frame.

Seat: upholstered cushion over a solid seat frame.

Apron: carved rosettes and scrolling leaf across the front and sides.

Legs: carved legs with scrolled feet.

Upholstery: red as photographed. Any fabric can be used instead, including your own material.

Finish: warm natural teak polish with gold picked out on the rosettes, beading and birds. The amount of gilding is set by you, up to fully gilded or none at all.

Size: custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

Photography: images on this page are of the actual product, not renders.

The swan heads at the arm fronts project further forward than anything else on this chair, so they are the first thing protected.

Each gets a shaped foam collar standing proud of the beak, and the birds set into the sides of the back frame get their own. The carved crest is collared across its raised elements, and the apron is protected with a continuous foam strip along the front and both sides so pressure is spread rather than landing between the rosettes.

A soft non-abrasive layer covers all the polished and gilded surfaces first so nothing coarse touches either - the gilded rosettes in particular sit proud and mark easily. Corrugated panels then build a rigid shell around the chair, with the base blocked and braced so the weight rests on the seat frame rather than the crest. The outer carton is edge-reinforced, and the upholstery travels under a breathable cover. Everything unwraps by hand.

Free PAN-India delivery is included in the price - no zone rates, no distance surcharge, no freight line at checkout. The chair costs the same delivered to Kollam as to Karnal.

Dent-free arrival is guaranteed. It leaves in multi-layer protective packaging, travels with handlers briefed on figure carving and gilded detail, and is checked at every transfer point. If anything is not right when you open it, tell us and we make it right - the guarantee sits with us, not with the transporter.

Because the chair is carved to order, production begins once your upholstery, finish and measurements are confirmed in writing. If it is needed for a particular ceremony or date, tell us at enquiry and we will confirm in writing whether the timeline works before you commit. You get updates as the work progresses and a dispatch note with an expected delivery window.

The solid teak frame and joinery carry a 20-year warranty. That covers the seat frame, the back frame and crest, the arm rails and their swan supports, the apron and the carved legs. If a joint opens or a member fails within those twenty years, we repair or replace it.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs alongside it and never expires. Teak's natural oils are why termites avoid it, and our seasoning and finishing routine is built around preserving them, so the timber is guaranteed for as long as the chair is yours.

The arm joints are the ones worth naming here, because a scribed shoulder into a carved support is the kind of joint that separates good work from quick work - and it is covered as a structural joint like any other. These terms hold because the chair is made from start to finish in our own workshop by the master Indian artisans who build every piece we sell, from timber we season ourselves.