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 1127418.4
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 [1127418.2 & 3 - 1127418.5 - 1127418.7]. The high, rectangular back and padded, loose seat upholstered in early 20th century floral embroidery worked in polychrome wools on beige 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. The three chairs 1127418.4, 1127418.5 & 1127418.6 covered in upholstery of a slightly different design worked in different colours.
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.'