Sedan chair
Category
Carriages & other vehicles
Date
1764 - 1769
Materials
Leather, wood, silk damask
Measurements
163 x 80 x 98 cm (5ft 4 1/4in x 2ft 7 1/2in x 3ft 2 1/2in)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Saltram, Devon
NT 872068
Caption
This very fine sedan chair would have been at the height of fashion during the 1760's with its domed roof, red morocco leather highlights and green silk interior. The initials JP (unfortunately now missing) show that it was built for John Parker, owner of Saltram in the mid-eighteenth century.
Summary
Sedan chair built in the manner of Samuel Vaughan (active 1751-1781) for John Parker circa 1764 – 1769 Sedan chair in the Westminster style with a dome head, built for a gentleman. Black leather panels with red morocco leather corner seams. Stamped gilt brass ornamentation and upholstered in green silk damask.
Full description
Sedan chair in the Westminster style with a dome head. The panels are of the highest quality black leather with red morocco leather corner seams. Stamped gilt brass ornamentation and upholstered in green silk damask. This is a superbly ornamented gentleman’s sedan chair built during the period when new fashionable shapes were vying for popularity. By the 1750’s the narrow side windows, for improved privacy, had become the popular choice for quality sedans. Green interiors became the most popular colour for gentleman’s sedans during the 1760’s and 1770’s. This sedan is probably the oldest surviving example with open heels and a cypher to the rear. It is one of three dome-roofed sedans with narrower side windows in the care of the National Trust. From the time of George I the Westminster English sedan chair is almost unique in Europe for having sides which taper by up to two inches. This design allows rainwater running off of the roof to miss the window apertures. It also makes life easier for the rear chairman when negotiating narrow doorways as the roof (instead of the pole lugs) becomes the widest part of the sedan.
Provenance
John Parker, to build a gentleman’s sedan chair newest fashion, best black leather with red morocco leather corner seams and a complete set of chased brass ornaments over the body and head. To a cypher JP and palms behind. Lin’d with 11 ½ yards of rich green silk damask, curtains, tassels, half glasses, wrought lugs, lock corners and tops best pattern. Carpet, carved gilt poles, straps and best green bays cover with leather head. Price £54 guineas. At Saltram by 1962 and given to NT as part of the endowment by Montagu Brownlow Parker (1878-1962), 5th Earl of Morley.