Untitled
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1715
Materials
Walnut, upholstered in later embroidery worked in wool and silk
Measurements
102 x 60 cm
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1127418.2
Summary
A chair, from a set of seven pieces of early 18th century walnut-framed and upholstered seat furniture, English, circa 1715, en suite with a sofa [1127418.1] and five further chairs [1127418.3 -1127418.7]. The high, rectangular back and padded, loose seat upholstered in early 20th century floral embroidery worked in polychrome wools on yellow silk (the needlework by Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish (1870 - 1960), Duchess of Devonshire (1908 - 1938) and Lady Edward Cavendish (1895 - 1988) wife of the 10th Duke of Devonshire) and with plain seat rails raised on a pair of cabriole front legs with decorative string moulding to the knees and terminating in pad feet. The rear legs outswept.
Provenance
By descent until, following the death of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1895 - 1950), Hardwick Hall and its contents were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust, in 1959. A hand-written note initialled 'E.D.' opposite p.109 in Christie's 1956 Inventory of the contents of Hardwick Hall reads 'The cross-stitch seats and backs of this set of chairs were much too torn to repair except the settee cover which had been protected by a mattress. Lady Edward and I copied the original pattern exactly but made the colours as they used to be - unfortunately they have not faded.'