Upholstered mahogany side chair with scroll back.
Identifier
FPF135
Title
Upholstered mahogany side chair with scroll back.
Date
1890-1910.
Description
An upholstered side chair with mahogany legs and a scroll back.
Full Description
A fully upholstered side chair with a scrolled back and squared mahogany legs, straight at the front and raked at the back, with chinoiserie brackets. The chair is generally in mid to late-18th century style but was made in the late 19th or early 20th century.
There is no clear precedent in 18th-century furniture for a fully scrolled back; ‘paper scrolls’ were sometimes carved into the crest rails of chairs (see FPF083, for example) and a raised scroll could be a feature of upholstered chairs such as those by Thomas Phill for Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire in 1715, which he described as ‘of ye newest fashion’(Bowett, 2009). Another example of a raised scroll crest can be seen in FPF030, with painted leather covers.
So it is possible that the full scroll along the back of the chair shown here was derived from these early 18th-century raised scrolls. Alternatively it might have been influenced by the fashion for scrolled arms and backs of settees and chaises introduced by Henry Holland in furniture for Southill in around 1795 and included in Thomas Sheraton’s second book of designs, The Cabinet Dictionary, 1803, as a Grecian style (see Collard, 1985). Greek revival became very fashionable during the Regency period and scrolled arms and backs of chairs and settees were often included amongst the palm leaves, lyres, Greek keys, tablets and ram’s heads typical of the period.
The legs are more aligned to chairs of the 1750s and ‘60s, with their square form and chinoiserie brackets, similar to those illustrated by Thomas Chippendale in the Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, 1754, Plate XXIV and 1763, Plate 26. See also FPF146 for a mahogany armchair in chinoiserie style with similar square legs and brackets.
This is one of a large set of chairs made for the Earl of Buckingham at Hampden House, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, of which twelve remain in the house. Recent restorations showed the backs to be made (probably) of ash. On this chair the back framing is not visible, but the mahogany legs and brackets date from c.1900 and the seat rails are re-used beech. There is no evidence of any early upholstery materials. It is therefore assumed it was made in c.1900, re-using original seat rails. The upholstery is 20th century; the top cover was previously red damask and the chair has since been re-covered in yellow damask.
There is no clear precedent in 18th-century furniture for a fully scrolled back; ‘paper scrolls’ were sometimes carved into the crest rails of chairs (see FPF083, for example) and a raised scroll could be a feature of upholstered chairs such as those by Thomas Phill for Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire in 1715, which he described as ‘of ye newest fashion’(Bowett, 2009). Another example of a raised scroll crest can be seen in FPF030, with painted leather covers.
So it is possible that the full scroll along the back of the chair shown here was derived from these early 18th-century raised scrolls. Alternatively it might have been influenced by the fashion for scrolled arms and backs of settees and chaises introduced by Henry Holland in furniture for Southill in around 1795 and included in Thomas Sheraton’s second book of designs, The Cabinet Dictionary, 1803, as a Grecian style (see Collard, 1985). Greek revival became very fashionable during the Regency period and scrolled arms and backs of chairs and settees were often included amongst the palm leaves, lyres, Greek keys, tablets and ram’s heads typical of the period.
The legs are more aligned to chairs of the 1750s and ‘60s, with their square form and chinoiserie brackets, similar to those illustrated by Thomas Chippendale in the Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, 1754, Plate XXIV and 1763, Plate 26. See also FPF146 for a mahogany armchair in chinoiserie style with similar square legs and brackets.
This is one of a large set of chairs made for the Earl of Buckingham at Hampden House, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, of which twelve remain in the house. Recent restorations showed the backs to be made (probably) of ash. On this chair the back framing is not visible, but the mahogany legs and brackets date from c.1900 and the seat rails are re-used beech. There is no evidence of any early upholstery materials. It is therefore assumed it was made in c.1900, re-using original seat rails. The upholstery is 20th century; the top cover was previously red damask and the chair has since been re-covered in yellow damask.
Condition
Made c.1900 as a copy, re-using earlier beech seat rails.
20th century upholstery, later re-covered.
20th century upholstery, later re-covered.
Materials
Mahogany.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 100
W. 53
D. 66
W. 53
D. 66
Parker Numbers
493. 1629. Note on record: old 1629 in stock prior to 1911 £1.0.0.
Provenance
Originally in Hampden House, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. Acquired by Frederick Parker & Sons pre-1911.
Notes
Adam Bowett, Early Georgian Furniture, Antiques Collectors Club, 2009, p.152.
Frances Collard, Regency Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1985, pp. 45 and 72, 79 and 102-104.
Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, 1754, Plate XXIV and 1763, Plate 26.
Frances Collard, Regency Furniture, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1985, pp. 45 and 72, 79 and 102-104.
Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, 1754, Plate XXIV and 1763, Plate 26.
