Images(2)

Side chair

Dateca. 1725

OriginEngland, London

MediumWalnut, walnut veneer, beech, and gold leaf

DimensionsOH: 44 1/2" OW: 22" OD: 18 5/8" OH to seat: 17 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957-177,1

DescriptionBack composed of a pair of shaped and scrolled stiles, molded and gilded on outer and inner edges, with gilt scrolls on outer edge just beneath shoulders; stiles curve over and inward at top to form cresting rail, merging into top of splat; area at center of cresting rail, above splat, filled in with large, gilt, stylized shell with molded edges punch work ground, and decorated with bands of stylized foliage on either side of central husks above a small, molded shell; solid, elaborate, vase-shaped splat, surrounded by gilt border, gadrooned at upper shoulders; at center of splat is a large, central, vase-shaped ornament, slightly intaglio and gilded; ornament consists of a trefoil top above a tapering center section terminating in a smaller, reversed trefoil at base; ornament is filled with raised, molded decoration of baroque scrolls, crosshatching and bellflowers; at base of splat is a small, trefoil-shaped medallion, intaglio, gilded and filled with molded bellflowers in center; splat mortised into high, molded shoe, gilded on upper edge; balloon-seat frame, with recessed central portion at front, the upper edge of seat frame gilded; gilded, trefoil medallion with dependent scrollwork at center front of seat rail; cabriole front leg, the knee framed in a molded and gilded shaped medallion, similar to that on splat, but with central foliage replacing the crosshatching on back; scrolled shoulders, gilded and decorated with gadrooned molding; small band of gilding at center of leg below knee; legs terminate in unusual, rounded hoof feet on bad with gilt bellflower at ankle; rear legs identical in form to front, but decorated only on outside edges.

Woods: Primary: walnut and walnut veneer; Secondary: beech slip seat frame
Label TextAs they do today, furniture fashions changed over time in the 18th century. Curves and the visual movement they create came to dominate furniture designs beginning in the 1720s. With its rounded seat, cabriole legs, vase-shaped splat, and curved crest rail, this chair epitomizes that style. The addition of carving and gilding to the sinuous frame make this chair one of the finest examples of its day. It was originally part of a suite that included at least a dozen matching chairs, a pair of triple chair-back settees, and four stools. They furnished one of the elegant rooms at Worsborough Hall in Yorkshire, England.

A similar set of backstools and sofas in the Victoria and Albert Museum were produced for Sir Robert Walpole of Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England around 1725-1730 by Thomas Roberts Jr. of London. The similarity in design of the walnut and gilft carved legs and seat rails suggest that Roberts could possibly be the maker of the Wrosborough Hall chairs and settees as well.
InscribedNo
Markings"VIII" on chair and slip seat frame
ProvenanceThis set came originally from Worsborough Hall, Barnsley, Yorkshire, and was part of a set which included eight or ten chairs, two settees and four stools. CWF also has one settee (1936-96). These two chairs were sold by James A. Lewis and Son, of New York to B.H. Homan of New York, from whose sale at Parke Bernet, they were acquired by CW. A chair from the set is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and another at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA 1928-47,1), and another at the Musuem of Fine Arts Boston (MFA 1991.583).

Exhibition(s)