Chair
Category
Furniture
Date
1800 - 1849
Materials
Cane, Cherrywood
Measurements
13 in (H)16 in (W)28 in (Length)
Place of origin
England
Collection
Carlyle's House, London
NT 263500
Summary
Five cherrywood occasional chairs, English, first half 19th century, each with a shaped back rail on two upright supports with a horizontal back splat, the shaped seats with caned or pierced and stained ply seats, on turned and tapering front legs and splayed square-section rear legs, the front legs joined by a turned stretcher, the sides with two plain stretchers and the rear with a single plain stretcher. Several chairs with shortened legs. Thought to originally have been a set of eight.
Provenance
Thomas Carlyle in a letter to his brother Alexander Carlyle, 27th June 1834, wrote 'at my old writing-table, with one of the dining-room chairs for personal use, and some eight other ornamental London ones, of cherry-wood and cane bottoms, bought for some 8/6 apiece, really very handsome.' It is thought that these are the chairs referred to in Thomas Carlyle's letter. Date and method of entry to the house unknown.