Walnut upholstered armchair with shepherd’s crook arms.

FPF072

Walnut upholstered armchair with shepherd’s crook arms.

1735-1745 and later.

An upholstered walnut armchair with shepherd’s crook arms, ‘compass’ seat and cabriole front legs with ball and claw feet.

This walnut armchair has an upholstered arched back and a ‘compass’ (meaning curved or rounded) drop-in seat set within veneered seat rails. The shepherd’s crook arms terminate in unusual cabochon ovals at the joints with the seat rails. The cabriole front legs have carved shells on the knees and C-scrolls to the top edges, and terminate in ball and claw feet. The back legs are square in section and are flared. The back has 18th century webbing and hessian, while the seat has 19th century webbing; the chair cover is a modern tapestry.

This chair has undergone significant alterations. The back, which originally was almost certainly rectangular and higher, has been cut down and re-shaped, partly to fit the arms, which appear to be from another chair. The back is now out of proportion and the chair has the appearance of being heavy and squat.

Significant alterations to the back.
The arms might be from another chair.
One arm support restored.
The back legs built up.
20th century covers.

Walnut (solid and veneer).
Upholstery.

H. 91
W. 66
D. 61

1745. 3245.

Purchased by Frederik Parker & Sons pre-1912 from Clifford; valued at £9.0.0

For comparable chairs of this period see Adam Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture, 1715-1740, Antiques Collectors Club, 2009, for example p.176, Plate 4:65, and pp.182-3, Plates 4.76 and 4.81.