Upholstered bergère tub armchair.
Identifier
FPF222
Title
Upholstered bergère tub armchair.
Date
1770-1780
Description
Upholstered bergère tub armchair, gilded.
Full Description
This gilded bergère or tub chair has a beech frame with a continuous curved back and arms, the arms down-swept and ending in scrolls where they meet down-swept arm supports. The top rail is carved with husk festoons and a central knot. The foliate-carved arm supports join blocks with carved paterae at the tops of the front legs. The front seat rail is bowed and fluted. The chair is raised on turned baluster legs that are part-fluted with ring-turning at the tops. The back legs are raked. The chair was gilded and has later been painted with black paint. There are traces of what could be the original upholstery on the arm pads and in the base cloth; the cover and deep squab cushion are 20th century.
This bergère chair is derived from French prototypes of the early 18th century, which typically had a sloping back and long seat, designed for comfort. Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) adapted the bergère form to produce a more upright armchair with a continuous curved back and arms; he supplied a pair to the actor David Garrick for his house in Royal Adelphi Terrace, London in c.1772, which are now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A W.41:1, 2-1977).
Although this chair is high quality and similar in many respects to the Chippendale chairs mentioned above, it is unlikely to be by him; in almost all of his chairs the arm supports join the seat rail at the sides of the chair rather than meeting the tops of the legs – one exception is the set of four mahogany bergères he made in 1776 for the dining room at Paxton House, Berwickshire, where the arm supports run continuously into the front legs (Jones, 2018).
There are ‘cramp cuts’ on the inside of the seat rail, used for cramping the joints between the seat rails and legs during assembly; these are often found on round-seated chairs by Thomas Chippendale, but not exclusively; other furniture makers used the same method.
This bergère chair is derived from French prototypes of the early 18th century, which typically had a sloping back and long seat, designed for comfort. Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) adapted the bergère form to produce a more upright armchair with a continuous curved back and arms; he supplied a pair to the actor David Garrick for his house in Royal Adelphi Terrace, London in c.1772, which are now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A W.41:1, 2-1977).
Although this chair is high quality and similar in many respects to the Chippendale chairs mentioned above, it is unlikely to be by him; in almost all of his chairs the arm supports join the seat rail at the sides of the chair rather than meeting the tops of the legs – one exception is the set of four mahogany bergères he made in 1776 for the dining room at Paxton House, Berwickshire, where the arm supports run continuously into the front legs (Jones, 2018).
There are ‘cramp cuts’ on the inside of the seat rail, used for cramping the joints between the seat rails and legs during assembly; these are often found on round-seated chairs by Thomas Chippendale, but not exclusively; other furniture makers used the same method.
Condition
All feet have been tipped.
Remains of original gilding. Later black paint in places.
Some of the upholstery is early, underneath the modern kapok stuffing and top cover. The webbing under the seat appears to be 19th century.
Remains of original gilding. Later black paint in places.
Some of the upholstery is early, underneath the modern kapok stuffing and top cover. The webbing under the seat appears to be 19th century.
Materials
Beech
Physical Dimensions
H. 91
W. 79
D. 76
W. 79
D. 76
Parker Numbers
OM 1608, 2296. See Frederick Parker archive, Box 55, FPA050. Page 31. 2296 is probably the pattern no.
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons pre 1914 from Lang of Chichester for £6.0.0.
Notes
Victoria & Albert Museum, W.41:1, 2-1977.
Chair | V&A Explore The Collections
See also: C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p. 98, fig. 160.
D. Jones, The Paxton Style: ‘Neat and Substantially Good’, Berwick upon Tweed, 2018, pp. 82-83, no. 21.
Chair | V&A Explore The Collections
See also: C. Gilbert, The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p. 98, fig. 160.
D. Jones, The Paxton Style: ‘Neat and Substantially Good’, Berwick upon Tweed, 2018, pp. 82-83, no. 21.
