A CHAIR more than 300 years old has sold for a world record £14.4million — but the buyer can’t ever sit on it.

Experts say the fragile folding relic, one of six in existence, “should be considered a work of art in terms of usage”.

The rosewood horseshoe-back chair was designed for a travelling dignitary in China during the Ming Dynasty.

It was later kept in the London home of Hong Kong businessman Sir Joseph Hotung, who died in December aged 91.

It had an estimate of up to £1.72million but a private collector paid eight times that in a Sotheby’s bidding war in central London on Saturday.

Asian art specialist Henry Howard-Sneyd said: “Watching the bids fly in was a career highlight — an astonishing result.”

Melica Khansari, of Sotheby’s, added: "Folding horseshoe-back armchairs are perhaps the most highly sought-after of all items of Ming furniture, and are thought to be the most striking and most highly celebrated designs created by Chinese carpenters.

"Conceived to be folded for easy transport, these portable chairs were naturally more prone to damage than other pieces of furniture.

"Few, therefore, could withstand the test of time, making extant examples extremely precious.

"They would have been used by the highest-ranking officials on their travels – a true seat of honour.

"Today they should be considered more of a work of art than a chair in terms of usage."

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