Armchair thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Armchair

c. 1785 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Chairs of this type were used in dining rooms and libraries in the late 18th century. The seats were generally covered in leather or haircloth (woven horsehair), both of which were durable and water-resistant. The haircloth cover now on this example is modern. The wood is mahogany, finely carved with a neoclassical anthemion, or honeysuckle motif, in the back-splat, rising from a vase. The chair can be dated to the 1780s, when the sinuous lines of the mid-18th-century Rococo style were often combined with neoclassical elements.

It was previously in the Massey-Mainwaring collection. W. F. B. Massey MP (1845-1907) married Isabelle Mainwaring in 1872 and took her surname. Their collection was based on that of her first husband, C. B. Lee Mainwaring, who began collecting in 1820. The Massey-Mainwaring collection included jewellery, enamels, stained glass, porcelain, paintings and furniture. Substantial parts of the collection were lent to the South Kensington Museum from 1874 until 1904, after which most of the collection was sold at auction.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Mahogany, carved with open-work back-splat and hair-cloth upholstered seat.
Brief description
Armchair of mahogany, with an upholstered seat, the back with a serpentine top rail and a balloon-shaped, pierced splat, carved with an upper motif of anthemion.
Physical description
Armchair, with a frame of carved mahogany. The balloon-shaped splat is formed of a honey-suckle motif arising from a vase, beneath a serpentine top-rail. Curved arms and straight moulding front legs, with plain stretcher and back legs. The upholstered seat has a hair-cloth cover.
Dimensions
  • Height: 97cm
  • Width: 59cm
  • Depth: 56cm
Styles
Object history
Previously part of the Massey-Mainwaring Collection. W.F.B. Massey PM (1845-1907) married Isabelle Mainwaring in 1872 and took her surname. Their collection was based on that her first husband, C.V. Lee Mainwaring, who began collecting in 1820. The Massey-Mainwaring collection included jewellery, enamels, stained glass, porcelain, paintings and furniture. Substantial parts of the collection were lent to the South Kensington Museum from 1874 to 1904.

Previously on long-term loan to teh Geffrye Museum, London 1975-1985, then to the Valentines Mansion and Garden, Ilford, Redbridge 2009-2014 [RF 2008/536].
Subject depicted
Summary
Chairs of this type were used in dining rooms and libraries in the late 18th century. The seats were generally covered in leather or haircloth (woven horsehair), both of which were durable and water-resistant. The haircloth cover now on this example is modern. The wood is mahogany, finely carved with a neoclassical anthemion, or honeysuckle motif, in the back-splat, rising from a vase. The chair can be dated to the 1780s, when the sinuous lines of the mid-18th-century Rococo style were often combined with neoclassical elements.

It was previously in the Massey-Mainwaring collection. W. F. B. Massey MP (1845-1907) married Isabelle Mainwaring in 1872 and took her surname. Their collection was based on that of her first husband, C. B. Lee Mainwaring, who began collecting in 1820. The Massey-Mainwaring collection included jewellery, enamels, stained glass, porcelain, paintings and furniture. Substantial parts of the collection were lent to the South Kensington Museum from 1874 until 1904, after which most of the collection was sold at auction.
Bibliographic reference
Tomlin, Maurice, Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture (London: HMSO for the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1972), cat. no. Q/2, p. 136
Collection
Accession number
503-1907

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Record createdNovember 28, 2008
Record URL
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