Upholstered wing armchair fitted as a commode.
Identifier
FPF324
Title
Upholstered wing armchair fitted as a commode.
Date
1800-1820
Description
Upholstered wing armchair with mahogany legs, fitted as a commode.
Full Description
This fully upholstered wing armchair has a high rectangular curved back with shaped rectangular wings which meet out-scrolled and down-swept arms. It has a loose seat-cushion, beneath which there is a frame which originally supported a toilet pan, now missing, under a hinged lid. The chair is raised on turned and tapering mahogany front legs with brass castors, and square section, flared mahogany legs at the back. The chair is covered with a modern pale green wool damask with a lighter fringe trimming.
The term ‘commode’ is a modern usage; this chair would have been referred to as a ‘necessary’ chair in the period when it was made. George Hepplewhite included a design for a similar ‘Easy Chair’ engraved in 1787 and published in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1794, which he described as: ‘a Saddle Check, or easy chair; the construction and use of which is apparent: they may be covered with leather, horse-hair; or have a linen case to fit over the canvas stuffing as is most usual and convenient’.
This chair was sold at auction in July 2026.
The term ‘commode’ is a modern usage; this chair would have been referred to as a ‘necessary’ chair in the period when it was made. George Hepplewhite included a design for a similar ‘Easy Chair’ engraved in 1787 and published in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide, 1794, which he described as: ‘a Saddle Check, or easy chair; the construction and use of which is apparent: they may be covered with leather, horse-hair; or have a linen case to fit over the canvas stuffing as is most usual and convenient’.
This chair was sold at auction in July 2026.
Condition
The chair was restored and recovered with a modern wool damask in 1985.
The front legs are possibly replaced.
The front legs are possibly replaced.
Materials
Mahogany.
Upholstery.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 119
W. 79
D. 81
W. 79
D. 81
Parker Numbers
6202
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons prior to December 1929, probably 13th October 1925.
Notes
A. Hepplewhite and Co., The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide; or, Repository of designs for every article of household furniture, 3rd Edition 1794, Plate 15 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
