# Antique Chair ID



## jimmybigfoot (8 Nov 2014)

Hi everyone. I've just been given the task of repairing the frame of this chair. Apparently when it was reupholstered 10-20 years ago there was a newspaper clipping dated 1840 stuffed in with the horse hair. Can anyone shed any light on what it's history or purpose was? As far as I can tell it is mahogany with a very dark black patine on it.
Cheers
Jim


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## Sgian Dubh (9 Nov 2014)

It's most likely a Victorian chair harking back to the early walnut period, which ran roughly 1660 - 1750, after which period the styles moved into what's frequently called the Age of the Designer, i.e., Chippendale, Sheraton, etc. It picks up on some of the characteristics of the early walnut period, e.g., barley twists, high back, heavy carving, but omits fancy carved or scrolled front and side stretchers, and also omits the wooden seat and caned backs often seen. The wooden seat and caned back arrangement is replaced here with an upholstered seat and back, plus the front leg is extended upwards to support the armrests. Whilst these latter features did appear in chairs of that period, their overall style was usually somewhat different. I'd say it's a dining chair, more specifically, a carver, intended to convey the feel and style of furniture from nearly 170 or so years earlier. Slainte.


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## jimmybigfoot (27 Nov 2014)

That's rather interesting, thanks sgian


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