Windsor Armchair
1760-1770 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Windsor chairs are characterised by having turned legs and back-frames, which are dowelled into a solid wooden seat. Their name probably derives from the town of Windsor in Berkshire, which is situated on the river Thames and was ideally located as a distribution point for chairs made in the Thames Valley region, where many chairs of this type were made. Windsor chairs were, however, also produced in many other areas of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. This example has back-splats made of yew, with a bent elm back-frame and arms, and a mahogany seat. Better-quality 18th-century Windsor chairs often had cabriole (S-shaped) front legs, as in this example. The back splat is carved to resemble the tracery of a Gothic church window.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Yew (arms, legs and splat) and mahogany or walnut (seat), carved and bent, turned back legs |
| Brief description | Windsor armchair with Gothic tracery back and cabriole legs |
| Physical description | Windsor arm chair with the back in the form of a pointed arch and the three back splats pierced with gothic tracery. The arm-bow is plain and horizontal, the under-arm supports are curved. The seat is carved out in a saddle shape, with an incised border. The cabriole front legs are connected to the turned back legs with a bowed front stretcher and two straight stretchers.There are brackets where the front legs join the seat. The back legs are turned. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given in memory of Henry Matthew Philipson-Stow, by his wife |
| Object history | The chair was the gift of Mrs H.M. Philipson-Stow, The Old Vicarage, Farnham, Surrey, in 1954 It is not known when and from whom it was acquired. It was on loan to Brighton Museum in 1975. Repairs to right front leg and stretcher carried out by a V&A conservator in1990. Missing parts of the stretcher were replaced with yew and wax. Part of the bracket was replaced with yew and stained - then fixed with two small nails and animal glue. |
| Summary | Windsor chairs are characterised by having turned legs and back-frames, which are dowelled into a solid wooden seat. Their name probably derives from the town of Windsor in Berkshire, which is situated on the river Thames and was ideally located as a distribution point for chairs made in the Thames Valley region, where many chairs of this type were made. Windsor chairs were, however, also produced in many other areas of Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. This example has back-splats made of yew, with a bent elm back-frame and arms, and a mahogany seat. Better-quality 18th-century Windsor chairs often had cabriole (S-shaped) front legs, as in this example. The back splat is carved to resemble the tracery of a Gothic church window. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Illustrated in Coleridge, Anthony, Chippendale Furniture, 1968, Plate 157. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.24-1954 |
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| Record created | December 15, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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