Walnut side chair with upholstered drop-in seat.
Identifier
FPF059
Title
Walnut side chair with upholstered drop-in seat.
Date
1715-1720
Description
Walnut side chair with baluster-shaped back splat and upholstered drop-in seat.
Full Description
This walnut side chair has a tall back, curved in both planes, with an undulating crest rail joining turned back posts. The solid baluster-shaped splat has a pierced diamond-form motif at the top and is tenoned into a raised ‘shoe’ on the rear seat-rail. The beech seat-rails are walnut-veneered with the top edges formed of moulded cross-grain walnut; the rails are shaped along the lower edges to lighten the appearance of the chair. The drop-in seat with tapering sides has been upholstered with a 20th century woven tapestry. The chair has cabriole front legs with shaped ears and ‘C’ scroll carving at the edges, terminating in pad feet. The flared back legs are turned, with square-sectioned blocks at the joints and heels. The legs are joined by a turned ‘H’-form stretcher with blocks, and by a higher, turned back rail.
This form of chair was commonly known as an ‘India back’ chair in the 18th century. With its distinctive curved splat, turned upright posts and crest rail resembling a milkmaid’s yoke, this term was a reference to Chinese chairs on which they were based – the term ‘India’ encompassing the whole of South and South-east Asia. The chair-type was also sometimes called a ‘bended’, ‘crook’d’ or ‘sweep’ back chair in contemporary sources. The introduction of the ‘India back’ is considered ‘the most radical and far-reaching design innovation of the eighteenth century’ (Bowett, 2009).
The reverse-curved or cabriole leg is an innovation that ‘more than any other characterised early Georgian chair design’ (ibid.). Although it has been suggested that the precursor for the cabriole leg is found on Chinese k’ang tables. The form probably reached England via France; engravings by Pierre Le Pautre (c. 1659-1744) and André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) incorporated cabriole legs on different types of furniture (ibid.). The earliest documented example of English cabriole leg chairs to survive is a set of six chairs (together with a sofa and firescreen) at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, the chairs supplied in 1715 by Thomas Phill (d. 1727) (ibid.; NT 494468).
The present chair can be compared to another in the Frederick Parker Collection, see FPF045, which is illustrated in Bowett, 2009.
This form of chair was commonly known as an ‘India back’ chair in the 18th century. With its distinctive curved splat, turned upright posts and crest rail resembling a milkmaid’s yoke, this term was a reference to Chinese chairs on which they were based – the term ‘India’ encompassing the whole of South and South-east Asia. The chair-type was also sometimes called a ‘bended’, ‘crook’d’ or ‘sweep’ back chair in contemporary sources. The introduction of the ‘India back’ is considered ‘the most radical and far-reaching design innovation of the eighteenth century’ (Bowett, 2009).
The reverse-curved or cabriole leg is an innovation that ‘more than any other characterised early Georgian chair design’ (ibid.). Although it has been suggested that the precursor for the cabriole leg is found on Chinese k’ang tables. The form probably reached England via France; engravings by Pierre Le Pautre (c. 1659-1744) and André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) incorporated cabriole legs on different types of furniture (ibid.). The earliest documented example of English cabriole leg chairs to survive is a set of six chairs (together with a sofa and firescreen) at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, the chairs supplied in 1715 by Thomas Phill (d. 1727) (ibid.; NT 494468).
The present chair can be compared to another in the Frederick Parker Collection, see FPF045, which is illustrated in Bowett, 2009.
Condition
The seat frame is replaced and the upholstery is later.
A piece of the seat-rail moulding is missing.
The front legs have been replaced below the knee – prior to Frederick Parker.
Both back legs are tipped.
Right hand stretcher and cross stretcher are replaced.
This chair is a good example of early restoration.
A piece of the seat-rail moulding is missing.
The front legs have been replaced below the knee – prior to Frederick Parker.
Both back legs are tipped.
Right hand stretcher and cross stretcher are replaced.
This chair is a good example of early restoration.
Materials
Walnut and walnut veneer.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 104
W. 59
D. 55
W. 59
D. 55
Marks
Marked ‘VII’ suggesting that this chair was part of a larger set of chairs.
Parker Numbers
OM 2246. See Frederick Parker Archive, Box 55, Ms. FPA050, page 145.
Provenance
In the collection prior to 1985. Note in folder: ‘New purchase London GH-U’
Notes
A. Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture 1714-1740, Woodbridge, 2009, pp. 150-151, 156, 163, Plates 4:37-4:38.
A related chair with similar back legs and stretcher is in the collection of the National Trust at Trerice, Cornwall (NT 336836).
Another close example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (W.49:2-1981).
For the Canons Ashby chairs, see: Untitled 494468 | National Trust collections
A related chair with similar back legs and stretcher is in the collection of the National Trust at Trerice, Cornwall (NT 336836).
Another close example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (W.49:2-1981).
For the Canons Ashby chairs, see: Untitled 494468 | National Trust collections
