Open armchair
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1813
Materials
Oak, walnut, leather
Measurements
89 x 55.5 x 48.8 cm
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Melford Hall, Suffolk
NT 926538.2
Summary
An open armchair, one of a set of four oak and walnut-strung open armchairs, English, circa 1813, once thought to have been supplied by George Morant (fl. c. 1790 - 1839) (also G. J. Morant and later Morant & Co), of New Bond Street, shortly after the library at Melford Hall, designed by Thomas Hopper (1776 - 1856), was completed in 1813. This is questionable, however, as they are not of the same quality as the other furniture (also believed to be by Morant) in the Library at Melford. They are also numbered II, III, V and VIII, suggesting that they were once part of a larger set, probably not intended for a library. NT 926539.5 is a rosewood chair - part of another set - which also has owl arm terminals. All four of the chairs in this set are stamped with a 'B' to the underside of the rear seat rail: the significance of this mark is unknown. Upholstered in green Morocco leather, and with a line-inlaid bar toprail above a square upholstered back panel in a simple line-inlaid frame. The downswept arms and curved arm supports with carved owl-mask terminals. The stuffed and upholstered drop-in seats held in simple line-inlaid seat rails and on sabre leg supports.
Full description
Once thought to have been part of a suite of furniture believed to relate to payments of £700 made by Sir William Parker, 7th Baronet (1769 - 1830) to George Morant of 88 New Bond Street, cabinet-makers and upholsterers to William IV, between 1812 and 1815. In the same period, Gillows of Lancaster received payments of just over £100, possibly for the Grecian chaises longue, or couches, with winged feet [NT 926537.1 & .2]. Having succeeded the 6th Baronet in 1812, Sir William began altering this wing of Melford, filling in the recesses between the turrets of the West Front in order to provide an extra suite of bedrooms upstairs, and a Library and study for his own use downstairs. The rainwater heads to the exterior of this part of the Hall bear the date 1813. Sir William employed Thomas Hopper (1776 - 1856), most famous now for Penrhyn Castle, Carlton House for the Prince Regent and Erddig. He also made alterations to Kentwell Hall, less than half a mile from Melford Hall. These chairs, however, although strung with a dark timber - probably walnut - do not match the bookcases, library table, reading tables and firescreen exactly, either in terms of materials or quality. It is possible, therefore, that they were supplied by a different maker. Owls, symbolising wisdom, and a perfect adornment to furniture in a library, appear in a design for library chairs of a more advanced Empire type, published by Richard Brown in his Rudiments of Drawing Cabinet and Upholstery Furniture of 1822. (Megan Wheeler, 2017)
Provenance
Probably acquired by Sir William Parker, 7th Baronet (1769 - 1830). Thence, part of the Hyde Parker Collection, and by descent to Sir Richard Hyde Parker, 12th Baronet (b. 1937). Melford Hall and part of the collection were Accepted in Lieu and transferred by the Treasury to the National Trust in 1966.
Marks and inscriptions
Rear seat rail: V Underside of rear seat rail: B
References
Jackson-Stops (1981), Gervase Jackson-Stops, 'Thomas Hopper at Melford and Erddig', in National Trust Studies 1981, 69 - 83