Child's commode chair
Category
Childcare objects
Date
circa 1850 - circa 1900
Materials
Wood
Measurements
Chair - 415 mm (width); 500 mm (height); 350 mm (depth), Lid - 30 mm (depth); 145 mm (diameter); 155 mm (diameter)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 662921
Summary
A child's commode chair. The chair is also a reduced version of a 'smoker's bow' or 'captain's chair', possibly from the second half of the 19th century. The chair has a dark oak stained finish. It has an oval hole with bevelled edges in the seat, and a wooden lid which fits into the hole. Each arm has a hole drilled through it horizontally near the front, about 12mm in diameter, possibly for a bar to keep the child in the chair. The arms form a semicircular back in two pieces joined in the middle. These are joined to the seat by six turned spindles. At the point where the back right spindle joins the arm there is a break. Above the arms there is a shaped backrest. There are four splayed turned legs, with stretchers at the front and both sides. The legs and stretchers, and the broken part of the back of the arm, are affected by insect damage. There is a pale mark at the back of the left hand stretcher, indicating that the back left leg may have become loose. The lid is of a different wood of a more greyish colour. There is one large chip and three smaller ones missing from its top edge. Total number of items is 2.