The two rimu chairs and a kauri chair had been owned by award-winning furniture specialist William Cottrell, author of Furniture of the New Zealand Colonial Era.
The chairs were sold after his family home, the Gunyah Country Estate at Darfield, about 45km west of Christchurch, was badly damaged in the quake.
Recognising the Dunedin origin of the chairs, Mr Cottrell offered first refusal to the Otago Settlers Museum before they were sent to auction.
The Otago Settlers Association then bought them for about $3000, association officials said.
Mr Cottrell was "thrilled" the chairs had returned to Dunedin, which was the "right space" for them.
The settlers museum already had a strong early furniture collection, and there was a high likelihood the chairs would have been "lost" if they had they been sold elsewhere, he said.
Museum collections team leader Claire Nodder said it was "wonderful" the Otago association could add to the strength of the museum's chair collection.
Association vice-president Hilary Allison and immediate past president Dr Dorothy Page were also delighted at the outcome.
