Oak backstool, or side chair, with original upholstery on seat and back.
Identifier
FPF414
Title
Oak backstool, or side chair, with original upholstery on seat and back.
Date
1670-1690
Description
A joined oak backstool with reel-turned front legs and original leather covered upholstery on the seat and back.
Full Description
This is a rare example of a 17th century oak backstool with its original upholstery and covers. The oak frame is ‘joined’, that is, made by a joiner using mortice and tenon joints fastened with oak pegs. The upholstered back is rectangular, with square section posts which are slightly raked, and cross rails. The back legs are continuous with the posts and vertical below the seat. The stuff-over seat rests on rails joined to the legs with mortice and tenon joints. The front legs are turned with reels and have squared blocks at the joints, ending with turned bun feet. The four stretchers are plain. The upholstery is stuffed with straw and hay and the covers are leather, fixed with dome-headed nails.
The height of the back and its horizontally rectangular shape suggests the chair dates to between 1670 and 1685; after this date English chair backs tended to be either square, or more commonly, vertically rectangular. From the 1690s until around 1720, the fashion was for exceptionally tall backs.
The presence of the original upholstery sets this chair apart as a rare survival. The stuffing, which is visible where the leather has perished, appears to be mainly straw and hay. The best quality leather used for upholstery at this period was Russian, imported from the Baltic ports. The hide was very durable, due to the long tanning process; the leather was finished in a rolling press which left a pattern of diagonal lines in the surface. On this chair, however, there are no signs of the diamond pattern, so the leather could either have been imported from elsewhere - Turkey was an alternative source - or it could be English hide. The leather was generally nailed to the chair with domed tacks, as here, although often in double rows. The front faces of the back posts between the seat and back were also leather-covered, as in this case (Bowett, 2002). Of particular interest are the four ties visible in the centre of the seat, known as double-stuff stitching, to help hold the stuffing in place.
The cost of the wood and making the frame of such chairs was often much less than that of the covering, which if not leather might be Turkeywork, an English woollen cloth woven in a pattern and colours to resemble Turkish rugs; or needlework; or a woven fine cloth such as serge or camlet. More expensive chairs, with more turning and carving in the frame, would have merited more expensive fabrics, like silk. Caned chairs gradually became a more popular and fashionable alternative to joined chairs by the end of the 17th century.
The height of the back and its horizontally rectangular shape suggests the chair dates to between 1670 and 1685; after this date English chair backs tended to be either square, or more commonly, vertically rectangular. From the 1690s until around 1720, the fashion was for exceptionally tall backs.
The presence of the original upholstery sets this chair apart as a rare survival. The stuffing, which is visible where the leather has perished, appears to be mainly straw and hay. The best quality leather used for upholstery at this period was Russian, imported from the Baltic ports. The hide was very durable, due to the long tanning process; the leather was finished in a rolling press which left a pattern of diagonal lines in the surface. On this chair, however, there are no signs of the diamond pattern, so the leather could either have been imported from elsewhere - Turkey was an alternative source - or it could be English hide. The leather was generally nailed to the chair with domed tacks, as here, although often in double rows. The front faces of the back posts between the seat and back were also leather-covered, as in this case (Bowett, 2002). Of particular interest are the four ties visible in the centre of the seat, known as double-stuff stitching, to help hold the stuffing in place.
The cost of the wood and making the frame of such chairs was often much less than that of the covering, which if not leather might be Turkeywork, an English woollen cloth woven in a pattern and colours to resemble Turkish rugs; or needlework; or a woven fine cloth such as serge or camlet. More expensive chairs, with more turning and carving in the frame, would have merited more expensive fabrics, like silk. Caned chairs gradually became a more popular and fashionable alternative to joined chairs by the end of the 17th century.
Condition
The leather has perished in places.
Materials
Oak.
Upholstery.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 90
W. 54
D. 47
W. 54
D. 47
Provenance
Purchased by the Frederick Parker Foundation at Christie’s, 2 July 2003.
Notes
See Adam Bowett, English Furniture, 1660-1714, Antique Collectors’ Club, 2002, pp. 80-83.
For a similar chair in the Collection see FPF413.
For a similar chair in the Collection see FPF413.
