Mahogany Hepplewhite Chair - Georgian Chair - Sheraton Style Arm and Single Chair in Mahogany

A mahogany Hepplewhite chair of pleas the late eighteenth century arms show the more restrained curves of the seat, legs and stretchers are still bold and firm in proportion.
Value points: Quality of back splat carving.
A Country Hepplewhite design chair, c.1795, of a type most frequently found made in elm. Normally they are stained or varnished to look like mahogany, and have been stripped and polished later if now in the natural
wood. The design is known as a camel-back and is a logical development of the town-made mahogany one; simpler in execution and less decorated.
Hepplewhite shield-back chair c.1790. The carving of the back is of particularly fine quality. The tapering legs are fluted and the decoration of brass studs adds further ornamentation. Normally executed in mahogany. Front legs end in spade feet.
Price Range: Considered by many to be a high point in English design, original shield back Hepplewhite chairs fetch very high prices. Those below are an indication.-
A country version of the two previous Sheraton style chairs, c.1810. The seats are solid and the back leg and upright very much straighter and rigid, with very little rake. The backs are also simplified; the front stretcher
is placed high between the two front legs as with earlier chairs instead of between the two side stretchers.
A later Georgian chair of Sheraton influence, c.1800, in the back but with arms more associated with Hepplewhite styles. The tapering front legs and the back are moulded; a mark of quality.
A mahogany chair of c.1790 of a design also associated with Hepplewhite although some of the conflicting trends of eighteenth century designs are evident in the square legs and eight pointed wheel effect. It is a fairly simple version of a beautiful design and represents a considerable accomplishment in craftsmanship. Note that the front legs end in spade feet.
A Sheraton design chair of considerable workmanship, c.1795. Many such chairs are to be found painted in white and gilt or otherwise having painted decoration on birch or beech wood. In the main the painted versions are more highly sought after than the mahogany ones, which makes for higher prices. Note the turned and fluted legs. The arm uprights have spiral reeding.
A Sheraton design arm and single chair in mahogany, c.1795. The uprights and arms are reeded, which lightens the square solidarity of design. Note the vase shaped turned arm supports and the way in which the
broad top rail is panelled.
A Sheraton style arm and single chair in mahogany, c.1800. The legs and back uprights are reeded; this effect is also carried round the panel in the wider top back rail.
Late eighteenth century arm and single chairs, c.1800. Note the broad top rail in the back, the panel veneered in figured mahogany. The spiral twist middle rail is a feature of quality particularly important in value assessment of these chairs. The legs are turned, without any fluting. The arms of the elbow chair sweep forward and curve down to meet the line of the front legs. The proportion of these admirable smaller dining chairs makes them extremely popular in the modern home.
Another late Georgian c.1810 mahogany armchair, something of a combination of Sheraton and prevailing styles. The wide top back rail is veneered with a panel of figured mahogany and the centre rail is elegantly
reeded. The turning of the front legs and the arm supports, with the popular vase shape, is lightly and gracefully done. Occasionally brass stringing will be found around the inlaid back panel, which adds to the
decorative value.