Upholstered bergère tub armchair.
Identifier
FPF265
Title
Upholstered bergère tub armchair.
Date
1780-1800
Description
Bergère tub armchair with original upholstery.
Full Description
This bergère armchair has a beech frame which is fully upholstered, and unusually it retains its original 18th century upholstery, apart from the top cover. The chair has a rounded and arched back, with the upholstery stitched into vertical rolls, extending on both sides above the arms. The upholstered arms are out-scrolled and down-swept at the front. The bow-front seat rail is upholstered and there is a squab cushion, which is also original. The chair would have had a loose cover originally; there are remnants of chintz from an earlier cover. The chair is raised on tapering, square-section mahogany legs, straight at the front and flared at the back, and all are fitted with brass castors.
This tub chair is an English interpretation of French 18th century bergère chairs, for example, a bergère ‘de forme gondole’ (illustrated in Kjellberg, 2002). The bergère chair with its sloping back and long seat was an easy chair, designed for comfort. Possibly because bergère chairs were made in pairs or a maximum of four, and as part of a larger suite of seat-furniture, few British 18th century examples survive today. Cabinet- and chair-makers like William Ince (d. 1804) and John Mayhew (1736-1811) included ‘Burjairs’ in The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762. ‘Barjair’ or ‘Berjair’ chairs were included in some of Thomas Chippendale’s (1718-79) large suites of seat-furniture; at Harewood House, Yorkshire, Chippendale’s most prestigious and valuable commission, a pair of bergères was supplied for the Yellow Damask Sitting Room in 1775; and between 1775 and 1778, Chippendale supplied a further pair of bergères for the New Grand Drawing Room at Burton Constable, Yorkshire (Gilbert, 1978). These two examples had high curved backs and steeply sloping arms, a form described as a bergère en cabriolet and à oreilles. Another pair of bergères, ‘japanned’ green and white, was commissioned by the actor-manager David Garrick for his house in Royal Adelphi Terrace, London (Victoria & Albert Museum), and yet another set of four in mahogany was made in 1776 for the dining room at Paxton House, Berwickshire, for Ninian Home (Jones, 2018).
This chair provides a good and rare example of late 18th century upholstery techniques. The exposed frame shows the use of spalted beech, i.e. wood damaged by a fungal disease, and therefore cheaper but no less strong, and acceptable for use where it would not be seen.
This tub chair is an English interpretation of French 18th century bergère chairs, for example, a bergère ‘de forme gondole’ (illustrated in Kjellberg, 2002). The bergère chair with its sloping back and long seat was an easy chair, designed for comfort. Possibly because bergère chairs were made in pairs or a maximum of four, and as part of a larger suite of seat-furniture, few British 18th century examples survive today. Cabinet- and chair-makers like William Ince (d. 1804) and John Mayhew (1736-1811) included ‘Burjairs’ in The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762. ‘Barjair’ or ‘Berjair’ chairs were included in some of Thomas Chippendale’s (1718-79) large suites of seat-furniture; at Harewood House, Yorkshire, Chippendale’s most prestigious and valuable commission, a pair of bergères was supplied for the Yellow Damask Sitting Room in 1775; and between 1775 and 1778, Chippendale supplied a further pair of bergères for the New Grand Drawing Room at Burton Constable, Yorkshire (Gilbert, 1978). These two examples had high curved backs and steeply sloping arms, a form described as a bergère en cabriolet and à oreilles. Another pair of bergères, ‘japanned’ green and white, was commissioned by the actor-manager David Garrick for his house in Royal Adelphi Terrace, London (Victoria & Albert Museum), and yet another set of four in mahogany was made in 1776 for the dining room at Paxton House, Berwickshire, for Ninian Home (Jones, 2018).
This chair provides a good and rare example of late 18th century upholstery techniques. The exposed frame shows the use of spalted beech, i.e. wood damaged by a fungal disease, and therefore cheaper but no less strong, and acceptable for use where it would not be seen.
Condition
Original upholstery, cover missing.
Original lacquer on castors.
Original lacquer on castors.
Materials
Mahogany.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 94
W. 79
D. 79
W. 79
D. 79
Parker Numbers
5996. 4937. PK523. This chair was reproduced by Frederick Parker & Sons as stock model PK 523 in 1939, as well as being copied earlier.
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons in early 1921 for £5.
Notes
P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Francais de XVIIIe Siecle, Paris, 2002, p. 105, B.
Ince and Mayhew, The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, plate LX.
C. Gilbert, The Life & Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p. 99, figs. 163, 161.
Chair | V&A Explore The Collections
D. Jones, The Paxton Style: ‘Neat and Substantially Good’, Berwick upon Tweed, 2018, pp. 82-83, no. 21.
Ince and Mayhew, The Universal System of Household Furniture, 1762, plate LX.
C. Gilbert, The Life & Work of Thomas Chippendale, London, 1978, vol. II, p. 99, figs. 163, 161.
Chair | V&A Explore The Collections
D. Jones, The Paxton Style: ‘Neat and Substantially Good’, Berwick upon Tweed, 2018, pp. 82-83, no. 21.
