Mahogany upholstered bergère armchair.
Identifier
FPF338
Title
Mahogany upholstered bergère armchair.
Date
1810-1830
Description
Mahogany upholstered bergère armchair on sabre legs.
Full Description
This mahogany bergère armchair has a rectangular upholstered back and panelled upholstered arms. The seat is webbed to support a deep squab cushion, and it has a square-section seat rail. The chair is raised on sabre legs with brass castors. The upholstery is original, but the top cover is missing; as a result the materials and methods of the original upholsterer are revealed.
The sabre leg, resembling the curve of a cavalry scimitar, and sometimes called a ‘scimitar’, ‘swept’ or ‘Waterloo’ leg, was introduced in the Regency Greek Revival period. This style was originally inspired by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens, volume I, published in 1762. From the 1790s into the early 19th century designers often incorporated Greek ornament in furniture. The sabre leg derives from those on klismos chairs as depicted on Ancient Greek pottery. Charles Heathcote Tatham’s Etchings of Ancient Ornamental Architecture (1799) and Etchings representing fragments of Grecian and Roman Architectural Ornaments (1806) together with Thomas Hope’s use of Graeco-Roman designs in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807), were influential sources for contemporary designers (Gloag, 1991).
The sabre leg, resembling the curve of a cavalry scimitar, and sometimes called a ‘scimitar’, ‘swept’ or ‘Waterloo’ leg, was introduced in the Regency Greek Revival period. This style was originally inspired by James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Nicholas Revett’s The Antiquities of Athens, volume I, published in 1762. From the 1790s into the early 19th century designers often incorporated Greek ornament in furniture. The sabre leg derives from those on klismos chairs as depicted on Ancient Greek pottery. Charles Heathcote Tatham’s Etchings of Ancient Ornamental Architecture (1799) and Etchings representing fragments of Grecian and Roman Architectural Ornaments (1806) together with Thomas Hope’s use of Graeco-Roman designs in his Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1807), were influential sources for contemporary designers (Gloag, 1991).
Condition
The upholstery is original but in poor condition.
Materials
Mahogany.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Beech.
Upholstery.
Physical Dimensions
H. 93
W. 63
D. 89
W. 63
D. 89
Parker Numbers
151.
This chair was used by Parker Knoll in 1939 as the model for their production chair, PK517.
This chair was used by Parker Knoll in 1939 as the model for their production chair, PK517.
Provenance
Purchased by Frederick Parker & Sons pre 1911 for 10 shillings.
Notes
J. Gloag, A Complete Dictionary of Furniture, revised and expanded by C. Edwards, Woodstock, 1991, pp. 372-373; 581.
