Painted beech upholstered armchair with square back.
Identifier
FPF206
Title
Painted beech upholstered armchair with square back.
Date
1790-1810
Description
Painted and partially gilded beech armchair with square upholstered back panel and drop-on seat.
Full Description
This black-painted and partially gilded mahogany open armchair is in the neo-classical fashion of the late 18th century. The square upholstered back panel is set within a channel-moulded frame and there is a central tablet in the crest rail with a moulded composition decoration which is now partly missing. Down-swept arms with padded armrests terminate in fluted baluster arm supports. The deep upholstered drop-on seat cushion rests on a channel-moulded bow-front seat rail with a central plain tablet. The chair is supported on tapering fluted columnar front legs with leaf carving at the top and with square-section tapering and flared back legs. The black paint is a later finish; traces of the original finish of ivory paint and parcel-gilt survive, and some of the gilding may be original.
This armchair is in the Louis XVI-style of the 1780s, made fashionable by French Royal makers such as Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748-1803) and Georges Jacob (1739-1814); for example, see a fauteuil à la Reine (Queen’s chair) by Sené, delivered in 1788 to the Grand Cabinet of Marie Antoinette at the Château de St. Cloud (Kjellberg, 2002). The style was introduced to English makers particularly through George Hepplewhite’s Guide, published in 1788, 1789 and 1794. In this chair the proportions differ from French models in that the legs are longer and the seat cushion thinner, while French chairs tended to have short legs and deep cushions; this example is also taller in the back and the back meets the rear of the seat.
This style of chair was in general intended for a drawing room, a room often identified as a feminine realm. The term derives from the ‘withdrawing’ room, which in the 17th century was an ante-chamber situated between the great chamber and the bedchamber used for intimate socialising, and later meant a room to retire to before or after dining.
This armchair is in the Louis XVI-style of the 1780s, made fashionable by French Royal makers such as Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené (1748-1803) and Georges Jacob (1739-1814); for example, see a fauteuil à la Reine (Queen’s chair) by Sené, delivered in 1788 to the Grand Cabinet of Marie Antoinette at the Château de St. Cloud (Kjellberg, 2002). The style was introduced to English makers particularly through George Hepplewhite’s Guide, published in 1788, 1789 and 1794. In this chair the proportions differ from French models in that the legs are longer and the seat cushion thinner, while French chairs tended to have short legs and deep cushions; this example is also taller in the back and the back meets the rear of the seat.
This style of chair was in general intended for a drawing room, a room often identified as a feminine realm. The term derives from the ‘withdrawing’ room, which in the 17th century was an ante-chamber situated between the great chamber and the bedchamber used for intimate socialising, and later meant a room to retire to before or after dining.
Condition
Part of the composition detail in the crest tablet is missing.
Finials missing.
Black paint is later but some of the gilding may be original.
The upholstery and cover is 20th century.
Finials missing.
Black paint is later but some of the gilding may be original.
The upholstery and cover is 20th century.
Materials
Beech.
Upholstery.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 91
W. 61
D. 61
W. 61
D. 61
Parker Numbers
1235. 2761.
OM 1235A. See Frederick Parker Archive, Box 55, FPA050, Page 169.
OM 1235A. See Frederick Parker Archive, Box 55, FPA050, Page 169.
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons, 1st December 1911 from Brackett for £6.10.0.
Notes
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Francais de XVIIIe Siecle, Paris, 2002, p. 812.
See also A. Hepplewhite, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 1788, 1789 and 1794.
This chair relates to an upholstered armchair, c. 1785, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (W.64-1930), see
Armchair | unknown | V&A Explore The Collections
See also A. Hepplewhite, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 1788, 1789 and 1794.
This chair relates to an upholstered armchair, c. 1785, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (W.64-1930), see
Armchair | unknown | V&A Explore The Collections
