Ebonised beech side chair with rush seat.
Identifier
FPF330
Title
Ebonised beech side chair with rush seat.
Date
1840-1870
Description
Ebonised beech side chair with rush seat, possibly a Sussex chair.
Full Description
This beech side chair has an arched bobbin-turned crest rail which tapers from the centre to each end, fixed between turned upright back posts with decorative ring-turnings which simulate bamboo. There are three horizontal rails in the back; the top two enclose two vertical spindles and four more spindles forming a diamond shape, all with decorative ring-turning and with turned balls at the points. The seat is rushed over a frame which has exposed squared corners and is finished with slips of beech along the edges. The chair is raised at the front on tapering and turned legs, also with ‘bamboo’ ring-turnings. The back legs are continuous with the posts, and are turned, tapering and slightly raked. The legs are joined by shaped stretchers, i.e., not turned, but rounded using a drawknife; the same is true of the rails in the back. The chair has an ebonised finish, i.e. stained dark brown and varnished. The rush is possibly original.
A similar design of chair back with spindles and balls forming a diamond is illustrated in an early 19th century London maker’s pattern book with the initials ‘T.D.’ on the cover. Several chairs with the same or similar diamond design in the back are known, suggesting this feature may have been used by more than one maker of fancy chairs (Boram, 2010). It is not uncommon for features of fancy chairs to appear in vernacular chairs; simulated bamboo turning is just one instance. It is worth noting that the stretchers and back rails of this chair are shaped with a drawknife and not turned, which suggests it is more likely from a country rather than metropolitan workshop, despite the similarities in the design of the back to the ‘T.D.’ drawings.
The bobbin turned arched crest rail is found in vernacular chairs both from the Cumberland Dales and Sussex. Traditional Dales chairs have been researched and published by B.D. Cotton (1990); Cotton has also studied the Sussex chair tradition (Cotton Archive), and his research is ongoing, but he has made a tentative attribution that the present chair is from Sussex, not from Cumbria. The Sussex chairs made by Henry Rich (1786-1867) in East Hoathly, Sussex are likely to be those which inspired William Morris and his friends to produce chairs of a similar design, made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. from 1864 (Pennington, 1995). Recent and ongoing research by G.Poulter has revealed another Sussex maker, Henry Hook (1798-1876) of Beckley; chairs found in the homes of Beckley residents are closely related to the present chair (Poulter, 2022).
A similar design of chair back with spindles and balls forming a diamond is illustrated in an early 19th century London maker’s pattern book with the initials ‘T.D.’ on the cover. Several chairs with the same or similar diamond design in the back are known, suggesting this feature may have been used by more than one maker of fancy chairs (Boram, 2010). It is not uncommon for features of fancy chairs to appear in vernacular chairs; simulated bamboo turning is just one instance. It is worth noting that the stretchers and back rails of this chair are shaped with a drawknife and not turned, which suggests it is more likely from a country rather than metropolitan workshop, despite the similarities in the design of the back to the ‘T.D.’ drawings.
The bobbin turned arched crest rail is found in vernacular chairs both from the Cumberland Dales and Sussex. Traditional Dales chairs have been researched and published by B.D. Cotton (1990); Cotton has also studied the Sussex chair tradition (Cotton Archive), and his research is ongoing, but he has made a tentative attribution that the present chair is from Sussex, not from Cumbria. The Sussex chairs made by Henry Rich (1786-1867) in East Hoathly, Sussex are likely to be those which inspired William Morris and his friends to produce chairs of a similar design, made by Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. from 1864 (Pennington, 1995). Recent and ongoing research by G.Poulter has revealed another Sussex maker, Henry Hook (1798-1876) of Beckley; chairs found in the homes of Beckley residents are closely related to the present chair (Poulter, 2022).
Condition
The chair is in good original condition.
The rush-work is probably original.
The lower left side stretcher is replaced.
The rush-work is probably original.
The lower left side stretcher is replaced.
Materials
Beech.
Rush.
Rush.
Physical Dimensions
H. 84
W. 43
D. 46
W. 43
D. 46
Provenance
In the Collection prior to 1993.
Notes
J. Boram, ‘Makers of ‘Dy’d, Fancy and Japan’d Chairs’, Regional Furniture, Vol. XXIV, 2010, p. 73, fig. 33; p. 75, fig. 37; p. 56, fig. 5.
B.D. Cotton, The English Regional Chair, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1990, pp.327-337.
Cotton Archive, Museum of the Home.
J. Pennington, ‘Sussex Chairs’, Regional Furniture, Vol. IX, 1995, p. 82, fig. 2; p. 85, fig. 6.
G. Poulter, Hook family chairs from the village of Beckley, Sussex, Regional Furniture Society Newsletter, Autumn 2022, p.14.
B.D. Cotton, The English Regional Chair, Antique Collectors’ Club, 1990, pp.327-337.
Cotton Archive, Museum of the Home.
J. Pennington, ‘Sussex Chairs’, Regional Furniture, Vol. IX, 1995, p. 82, fig. 2; p. 85, fig. 6.
G. Poulter, Hook family chairs from the village of Beckley, Sussex, Regional Furniture Society Newsletter, Autumn 2022, p.14.
