Armchair
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1670
Materials
Oak, chequer inlay of holly and bog-oak, rope, velvet
Measurements
114.5 x 64.5 x 53.5 cm
Place of origin
Yorkshire
Order this imageCollection
Ightham Mote, Kent (Accredited Museum)
On show at
Ightham Mote, Kent, London and South East, National Trust
NT 824968
Summary
An oak and parquetry open armchair, Yorkshire, circa 1670. The back panel carved with a lozenge and scrolls to each point, the uprights and lower rail with chequer banding in holly and bog oak, below a bold scroll-carved cresting supported by ears, the arms angled and sloping downwards, the rope seat with velvet cushion, on baluster legs joined by stretchers.
Full description
A Yorkshire armchair has distinct characteristics, including gouge-carved wing-like motifs on the points of the diamond in the back panel, the ears on the back uprights below an elaborate crest rail and the angled arms.This example has dog-tooth parquetry framing the back panel which indicates a more precise origin in the Leeds area. A rope seat is a less common feature than a plank seat.Similar chairs are illustrated in V.Chinnery 'Oak Furniture, The British Tradition', 1979 and 2016, Figure 4:130 and 4:133.
Provenance
The Sneyers Bequest of 1987.
References
Chinnery 1979, Victor Chinnery, Oak Furniture: The British Tradition (ACC revised 2016), Fig 4:130 and 4:133