Teak Wood Rocking Chair with Carved Back and Saddle Seat

The seat on this chair has no cushion, and it does not need one. That is down to a shape hollowed out of a solid board by hand, and to a rule about which direction the tool travels.

A seat like this starts as one thick plank. The carver marks the hollows - deeper where the weight of the body lands, rising to a low ridge at the front centre so the thighs are not pressed against a hard edge - and then removes the waste with a curved-blade tool, working across the grain rather than along it. Working across is counter-intuitive and it is the whole trick: cutting along the grain, the tool follows the fibres and dives, tearing out lumps below the surface you wanted. Cutting across, it severs the fibres cleanly and the hollow stays exactly as deep as intended.

The last stage is done with the board held up to a raking light, because a shallow scoop is almost impossible to judge by eye under flat lighting - low light throws every remaining ridge into shadow and shows the carver where more has to come off.

An hour or two of that, and a plank becomes a seat that fits a person. It is the oldest chairmaking skill there is, and there is still no way to fake it.

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

Back: tall oval panel carved with scrolling foliage, framed by turned stiles with small carved beasts at the tops, under a carved crest.

Arms: shaped arms sweeping from the back stiles onto turned front supports.

Seat: solid scooped saddle seat, hollowed by hand from a single board.

Sides: pierced openwork carved panels between the seat and the rockers.

Rockers: matched shaped bows cut from a single template, joined by a hand-turned stretcher.

Finish: deep warm hand polish showing the grain. Lighter or darker tones can be matched.

Cushion: none as photographed. A fitted seat or back cushion in any fabric can be added.

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 pierced side panels are the delicate part of this chair. Openwork carving has thin bridges of wood between the voids, and those are what a badly packed carton would find first, so they are supported before anything else.

Foam is fitted into and around the pierced panels so the openwork is held rather than left to take a knock. The carved crest, the beasts on the stiles, the arm ends and the turned stretcher each get their own collar. A soft non-abrasive layer covers the polished surfaces so nothing coarse touches the finish, and shaped foam blocks cradle the rocker bows so the chair sits still and its weight is spread.

Corrugated panels then build a rigid shell around the whole chair, and the outer carton is edge-reinforced so any stacked weight in transit is taken by the packaging rather than the frame. Everything comes off by hand, in layers, with no blades needed near the carving.

Free PAN-India delivery is included. There is no zone pricing, no distance surcharge and no freight line added at checkout - the same price whether the chair goes to Pune or to Patna.

Dent-free arrival is guaranteed. The chair leaves in multi-layer protective packaging, travels with handlers briefed on carved furniture, and is checked at each transfer. If anything is not right when you open it, tell us and we make it right - the guarantee rests with us and not with the transport company.

Because it is made to order, production starts once your finish and measurements are confirmed in writing. You get a timeline at that point and updates as the chair moves through turning, carving, seat shaping and polishing, then a dispatch note with an expected delivery window so you can plan around it.

The solid teak frame and joinery are covered for 20 years. On an all-wood rocking chair that is effectively the whole piece - the rockers, the joints where the side panels meet them, the seat, the back frame and the arms. If a joint opens or a member fails in that time, we repair or replace it.

Alongside runs a lifetime warranty against termite damage with no end date. Teak's own oils are why termites avoid it, and our seasoning and finishing process keeps those oils working, so we stand behind the timber for as long as you own the chair.

We can write terms like these 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. Nothing about it passes through hands we do not know. Your warranty registers automatically with the order - no card, no form - and your order number is enough to raise a claim at any point.