Mahogany gothic-style side chair with upholstered drop-in seat.
Identifier
FPF157
Title
Mahogany gothic-style side chair with upholstered drop-in seat.
Date
1760-1770
Description
Mahogany gothic-style side chair with upholstered drop-in seat.
Full Description
This mahogany side chair in the gothic style has a concave back with an undulating crest rail carved with an unusual wheel motif at the centre. It joins square-section back posts with three rusticated blocks on each, which give an architectural feeling to the chair. The back posts have filled dowel holes on the tops for finials, now missing. A gothic splat, pierced like window tracery, joins a flat ‘shoe’ fitted to the back seat rail. The chair has a tapered upholstered drop-in seat covered with a 20th century red worsted material. The seat-rail has moulded top edges and is supported on square-section legs, chamfered on the insides and with gothic brackets at the joints. The square-section back legs are flared with heels.
There is an identical set of six mahogany and mahogany-veneered chairs at Saltram, Devon, one of which is stamped 'I.W.' or 'J.W.', presumably the initials of the maker. The Saltram chairs have ball finials on the back posts. It is not known when the chairs were acquired for Saltram but they were there in 1951 when the house was accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of full payment of Death Duty from the Executors of Edmund Robert Parker, 4th Earl of Morley (1877-1951). A similar set of three armchairs is at Stourhead, Wiltshire, one of which is on loan to Attingham Park.
The mid-18th century Gothic Revival was made fashionable by the antiquarian and collector Horace Walpole (1717-97), and the completion of his villa, Strawberry Hill, Middlesex, in 1753. This was followed by other gothic houses, interiors and furnishings such as Lee Priory, Kent; Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire; and Eaton Hall, Cheshire. Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) included ‘gothic’ designs for chairs in the first edition of his Director in 1754, and many other designers and architects adopted the style.
This chair is possibly by a regional maker, as indicated by the quirkiness and naivety of the design; the gothic tracery in the back has a similar feeling to designs by Robert Manwaring, published in 1765.
There is an identical set of six mahogany and mahogany-veneered chairs at Saltram, Devon, one of which is stamped 'I.W.' or 'J.W.', presumably the initials of the maker. The Saltram chairs have ball finials on the back posts. It is not known when the chairs were acquired for Saltram but they were there in 1951 when the house was accepted by HM Treasury in lieu of full payment of Death Duty from the Executors of Edmund Robert Parker, 4th Earl of Morley (1877-1951). A similar set of three armchairs is at Stourhead, Wiltshire, one of which is on loan to Attingham Park.
The mid-18th century Gothic Revival was made fashionable by the antiquarian and collector Horace Walpole (1717-97), and the completion of his villa, Strawberry Hill, Middlesex, in 1753. This was followed by other gothic houses, interiors and furnishings such as Lee Priory, Kent; Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire; and Eaton Hall, Cheshire. Thomas Chippendale (1718-79) included ‘gothic’ designs for chairs in the first edition of his Director in 1754, and many other designers and architects adopted the style.
This chair is possibly by a regional maker, as indicated by the quirkiness and naivety of the design; the gothic tracery in the back has a similar feeling to designs by Robert Manwaring, published in 1765.
Condition
Missing finials on the back posts.
The padded drop-in seat frame is late-19th century.
The right front leg is replaced.
Three of the brackets have been restored.
The bracket on the side of the right leg is replaced.
The padded drop-in seat frame is late-19th century.
The right front leg is replaced.
Three of the brackets have been restored.
The bracket on the side of the right leg is replaced.
Materials
Mahogany.
Upholstery.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 91
W. 53
D. 53
W. 53
D. 53
Parker Numbers
OM 5182. See Frederick Parker Archive, Box 55, FPA050. Page 117.
Provenance
In the Collection prior to 1993.
Notes
Saltram chairs, see: Untitled 871288 | National Trust collections
Stourhead chairs, see: Untitled 731769| National Trust collections
Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, First Edition, 1754, Plates XXI and XXII.
Robert Manwaring, The Cabinet and Chair-Maker’s Real Friend and Companion, 1765, Plates 14-15.
Stourhead chairs, see: Untitled 731769| National Trust collections
Thomas Chippendale, The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker’s Director, First Edition, 1754, Plates XXI and XXII.
Robert Manwaring, The Cabinet and Chair-Maker’s Real Friend and Companion, 1765, Plates 14-15.
