An upholstered wing armchair with walnut cabriole legs.
Identifier
FPF055
Title
An upholstered wing armchair with walnut cabriole legs.
Date
1720-1730
Description
An upholstered wing armchair with scrolled arms and walnut cabriole legs.
Full Description
This armchair has a tall rectangular back with shaped wings and scrolled arms and arm supports, all upholstered, and it has a loose seat cushion, or squab, curved at the front. The shaped oak seat rail is veneered in cross-banded walnut and the chair is raised on four solid walnut cabriole legs terminating in pad feet, the front legs carved with bifurcated foliate scrolls at the knees, while the back legs are in what is known as the ‘broken’ cabriole form. The chair has a modern fixed gold velvet cover with a fringe trimming, and it has a detachable embroidered head-piece, possibly made from a late 18th-century Italian ecclesiastical fabric. This chair almost certainly has its original hessian and webbing, the latter repaired. There are traces of the original red worsted used to cover the back of the chair under the nails on the back of the seat-rail. There are remnants of a fine linen on the front seat-rail, which may be from the original upholstery.
One of the earliest references to a chair with upholstered wings on each side of the chair-back is in an account of furniture supplied to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 (Symonds, 1956). In the 17th century they were often referred to as ‘sleeping chairs’ and were used in bedchambers; the wings provided protection from cold draughts, as well as comfort. By the 18th century, wing armchairs (or easy chairs as they came to be called) were more common and were increasingly used in parlours.
According to R.W. Symonds, wing armchairs initially had a square seat; this evolved into a rounded seat, as in this example, which remained in fashion until around 1730. Thereafter, it reverted back to a square seat. In general, wing armchairs had a squab cushion supported on a base of webbing and hessian, and the chair legs were short to account for the extra depth required by the cushion. An early wing-back armchair with similar chair legs but with flat scrolled arms and a square front to the seat is illustrated by Symonds (ibid).
One of the earliest references to a chair with upholstered wings on each side of the chair-back is in an account of furniture supplied to Queen Elizabeth I in 1600 (Symonds, 1956). In the 17th century they were often referred to as ‘sleeping chairs’ and were used in bedchambers; the wings provided protection from cold draughts, as well as comfort. By the 18th century, wing armchairs (or easy chairs as they came to be called) were more common and were increasingly used in parlours.
According to R.W. Symonds, wing armchairs initially had a square seat; this evolved into a rounded seat, as in this example, which remained in fashion until around 1730. Thereafter, it reverted back to a square seat. In general, wing armchairs had a squab cushion supported on a base of webbing and hessian, and the chair legs were short to account for the extra depth required by the cushion. An early wing-back armchair with similar chair legs but with flat scrolled arms and a square front to the seat is illustrated by Symonds (ibid).
Condition
The back legs are partially restored. Replaced front and back toes. Back left foot has a piece broken off (now in a plastic bag).
Front ‘seatings’ for the legs have been replaced.
3 ears replaced, and veneer to seat rail.
Four slots in the back and side rails, presumably for strengthening bars across the frame, now missing.
Front ‘seatings’ for the legs have been replaced.
3 ears replaced, and veneer to seat rail.
Four slots in the back and side rails, presumably for strengthening bars across the frame, now missing.
Materials
Walnut and walnut veneer.
Oak.
Upholstery.
Oak.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 112
W. 91
D. 79
W. 91
D. 79
Parker Numbers
313. 1551. 1552. 1886. 4260. 4274. PK302.
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons in 1915 for £8.10.0 and reproduced by Parker Knoll in 1939.
Notes
R.W. Symonds, ‘Sleeping and Easy Chairs’, Country Life Annual 1956, pp. 81-83.
For a similar armchair see: Wing-back armchair 723188 | National Trust collections (Mompesson House, Wiltshire).
For a similar armchair see: Wing-back armchair 723188 | National Trust collections (Mompesson House, Wiltshire).
