Chair
1783 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This chair, one of a set of six, is inscribed in ink on the underside of the front seat rail 'Samuel Fairhead August 1783'. He is probably more likely to have been the first owner of the set than the maker. If the date is correct, Samuel Fairhead must have been very much aware of new fashions in furniture design. The square outline of the back was only just coming into fashion in the 1780s, replacing the ovals and shield shapes that had been popular a few years earlier. The first published designs that show this shape are those engraved for . A. Hepplewhite & Co in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide in 1788. The design of the centre of the back has no precedent in English published designs. It is a sophisticated use of the motif of a classical perfume burner, between two columns.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Mahogany, carved, with upholstery in red horsehair fabric |
Brief description | One of a set of six chairs, of carved mahogany, upholstered in red horsehair in place or original leather. The tapering legs rise from spade feet. The back is of square outline, the central area carved and pierced with a design of a classical perfume burner between columns |
Physical description | Chair of carved mahogany, upholstered in red horsehair in place of original red leather. The chair is raised on tapering, square-sectioned legs with spade feet. The back is rectangular, with an arched chair rail, a carved and pierced section in the middle forming a splat with a perfume burner between two columns, fronds of a plant issuing from the perfume burner to spread over a tablet section in the centre of the chair rail. The leather upholstery dates from the 19th or early 20th century, when the set of chairs was restored with new corner blocks to strengthen the seat. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Bequeathed by Miss Amy E. Tomes |
Object history | The Roman numerals chisel-marked into the underside of the seat rails of this set suggest that they came from a set of 48 or more chairs, which is a remarkably large set. Roman numerals such as these were generally used to number the different chairs in a set and are frequently found on 18th-century chairs. Metal reinforcements under the seat, plus added corner blocks, show that this chair has undergone heavy restoration in the past. Parts of this set were for many years on loan to Provost Skene's House, Aberdeen See Registered Files 51/1287, 53/2885, 68/1413 |
Summary | This chair, one of a set of six, is inscribed in ink on the underside of the front seat rail 'Samuel Fairhead August 1783'. He is probably more likely to have been the first owner of the set than the maker. If the date is correct, Samuel Fairhead must have been very much aware of new fashions in furniture design. The square outline of the back was only just coming into fashion in the 1780s, replacing the ovals and shield shapes that had been popular a few years earlier. The first published designs that show this shape are those engraved for . A. Hepplewhite & Co in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide in 1788. The design of the centre of the back has no precedent in English published designs. It is a sophisticated use of the motif of a classical perfume burner, between two columns. |
Associated objects | |
Bibliographic reference | Tomlin, Maurice, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture (London:HMSO for the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972), cat. no. Q/8, p. 139. |
Collection | |
Accession number | W.71-1940 |
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Record created | June 30, 2008 |
Record URL |
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