CHAIRS upholstered, occasional
The turn of the century saw an onslaught of a type of chair, neither for dining nor for long-term comfortable seating, which is aptly named ‘occasional’. They were made in a variety of styles and we show a selection on these pages which cover most of the normal types. Rather than dwell individually [...]
CHAIRS — turned leg, 1800-1840
The turned leg chairs of the 1800-1840 period derive from late Sheraton and other, usually classical, design influences of the period. Whereas the overall shape is clearly recognisable, an infinite variety of decorative
designs were used and it is again very difficult to range the quality of the enormous output.
A fine quality [...]
Sabre Leg Chairs
While variations in quality obviously exist, chairs with sabre legs do not go through the same gradations as previous types, perhaps because the country makers instinctively avoided them, mindful of the structural
weakness implied in the sabre leg, which must be cut across the grain at some point. The scrolling arms, with their wide [...]
Victorian button-back chair
The relative austerity of Regency furniture and the soft clinging clothes worn by the ladies of the period were ousted during William IV’s reign by the new ‘Naturalistic’ line. Furniture became more curvaceous, seats of chairs wider to accommodate the increasing volume of ladies’ skirts and gentlemen’s frock coats, both of which were [...]
Sheraton chair
Even at its most decorative and ornate, Sheraton furniture is made with very little integral ornament, and relies for its originality and sparkle on painting and gilding, inlay and japanning. Sheraton was puritan by conviction and by nature, favouring straight lines rather than curves, and multipurpose space-saving furniture for the ranks of Georgian terraced [...]
Hepplewhite shield-back chair
George Hepplewhite started his career as an apprentice to Gillows of Lancaster, and is the first recorded furniture designer to work for a large company of furniture manufacturers. His pattern book, The Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide,
Signs of authenticity
1. Correct proportions laid down by Hepplewhite: height of seat frame 17 in, depth of [...]
Chippendale dining chair
Historical background
Designs for Thomas Chippendale’s chairs were freely available once his pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director was published in 1754 and were
Signs of authenticity
1. Solid, heavy mahogany, smooth and silky to the touch.
2. Underframes of beech, plane or sycamore.
3. Crest rails fitting into tops of side rails where design scrolls [...]
Adam round-back chair
Signs of authenticity
1. Fine, crisp carving in low relief in beech or dense-grained mahogany.
2. Seats overstuffed or upholstered, not drop-in.
3. Back legs raked and slightly splayed.
4. Hooped back in three
separate pieces: the two side-rails and hooped crest rail.
5. On chairs with central
pierced splat, separate shoe-piece attached to back seat rail.
6. Edge moulding and [...]
Queen Anne wing chair
The Palladian architecture of the early eighteenth century suited the English landscape beautifully, but the high ceilings and spaciousness of the interiors were more suited to warmer climates. Porters in draughty halls sat out their on-duty hours in deep, hooded chairs which almost entirely enclosed them. In drawing rooms, their masters and [...]
Queen Anne spoon-back chair
Historical background
The transitional shape of chairs at the end of the seventeenth century included the curved S-scrolling legs with pronounced `knees’ and a carved central splat. These two key features were swiftly followed. by the
Signs of authenticity
1. Back made up of five parts: two side supports (or ’stiles’: continuation of back legs); [...]