Winged armchair frame.
Identifier
FPF454
Title
Winged armchair frame.
Date
1930-1940
Description
Walnut and beech winged armchair frame, made by Parker Knoll.
Full Description
This winged armchair frame in beech with walnut legs has a tall back with a serpentine crest rail. Shaped and splayed wing sides join out-scrolled armrests with rounded tops on scrolled supports. The tapered seat rail has a bow-front. The chair is raised on cabriole legs terminating in pad feet at the front and square section raked legs and feet at the back. The seat and back are designed to be fitted with Parker Knoll tension springs, of which only two in the back are in place. As a finished chair, all the surfaces would have been upholstered leaving just the legs exposed, and there would have been upholstered cushions to fit the seat and back.
This chair frame is the prototype for the PK140 armchair, known in the 1930s as a fireside chair and marketed by Parker Knoll as the Hartley chair. It was one of their most popular models (Bland,1965).
The fashion for winged armchairs, first referenced in the late 16th century, remained popular into the 18th century and beyond; George Hepplewhite included a design for an ‘Easy Chair’ 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’.
For an early winged easy chair dating between 1690 and 1710, see FPF024.
This chair frame is the prototype for the PK140 armchair, known in the 1930s as a fireside chair and marketed by Parker Knoll as the Hartley chair. It was one of their most popular models (Bland,1965).
The fashion for winged armchairs, first referenced in the late 16th century, remained popular into the 18th century and beyond; George Hepplewhite included a design for an ‘Easy Chair’ 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’.
For an early winged easy chair dating between 1690 and 1710, see FPF024.
Condition
Broken joint on left wing.
Materials
Walnut.
Beech.
Beech.
Physical Dimensions
H. 102
W. 72
D. 67
W. 72
D. 67
Marks
PK140 painted on the front rail.
Parker Numbers
PK140.
Provenance
Designed and made by Parker Knoll in the 1930s. Acquired for the Collection c.2010.
Notes
S. Bland, Take a Seat, The Story of Parker Knoll 1834-1994, Baron, 1995, p.95)
A. Hepplewhite and Co., The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide; or, Repository of designs for every article of household furniture, 3rd Edition, plate 15: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive.
A. Hepplewhite and Co., The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide; or, Repository of designs for every article of household furniture, 3rd Edition, plate 15: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive.
