Armchair thumbnail 1
Armchair thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On display at Ham House, London

Armchair

1670-1680 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
The Netherlands (made)
Flanders (made)

This armchair, with caned seat and back, is of a type of chair that became popular throughout Europe in the late 17th century. They came to be known as 'English chairs' in various European languages. Certainly many such chairs were made in London between about 1670 and 1710 and some were exported, but little is known of other centres of production in Europe. When it was acquired, this armchair was thought to be English but it is now thought that it may possibly have been made in a Netherlandish city. The large oval panel of caning in the back differs from the usual British pattern of two thin, vertical panels of caning.

On loan to Ham House.


Object details

Categories
Furniture
Woodwork
Object type
Armchair
Materials and techniques
Walnut, turned, carved and jointed, with panels of caning
Walnut
Caning
Turning
Carving
Joinery
Brief description
Turned and carved walnut armchair with caned seat and oval back, about 1670-80, Dutch or Flemish.
Physical description
Turned and carved walnut armchair with caned seat and oval back, about 1670-80, Dutch or Flemish.

Description:
On the back an oval panel of canework framed by pierced scrollwork and beads with cherubs supporting a coronet above; spiral side uprights; arms ending on scrolls and carved with acanthus; spiral legs and stretchers; cane seat.

Modifications:
The joints apparently repegged. Note that the leg stretcher joints and the joints between the arms and rear uprights are all double-pegged. Four oak corner blocks on modern screws have been glued below the seat. The frame of the seat back is restored and reinforced.
Dimensions
  • Height: 124cm (Note: Measured by NH, January 2015)
  • Width: 64cm
  • Depth: 64cm
  • Height: 46.5cm (Seat)
Gallery label
ARM CHAIR English: about 1670 Walnut Museum No. W.35-1926(1968)
Credit line
Bequest of Miss Ethel Scharlieb
Object history
Bequest from Miss M.E.S. Scharlieb, through Dr. Mary Scharlieb, 149 Harley St., W1.

RP 26/5000, 73/1285

This armchair was given with one other armchair (W.36-1926) but no history of the chairs was recorded with the bequest.
Summary
This armchair, with caned seat and back, is of a type of chair that became popular throughout Europe in the late 17th century. They came to be known as 'English chairs' in various European languages. Certainly many such chairs were made in London between about 1670 and 1710 and some were exported, but little is known of other centres of production in Europe. When it was acquired, this armchair was thought to be English but it is now thought that it may possibly have been made in a Netherlandish city. The large oval panel of caning in the back differs from the usual British pattern of two thin, vertical panels of caning.

On loan to Ham House.
Bibliographic references
  • Savage, George. 'French Decorative Arts 1638-1793'. London, Allan Lane, Penguin Press, 1969, pl 16.
  • Adam Bowett, English Furniture 1660-1714 From Charles II to Queen Anne (Woodbridge, England: Antique Collector's Club, 1988), pp 230-232, Pl 8:6. ‘There were many copies made in the nineteenth century to satisfy the historicist craving for ‘Elizabethan’ furniture. J.C. Loudon’s Cottage, Farm and Villa Architecture (1829) illustrates chairs of various types considered suitable for ‘Elizabethan Villa Furniture’, including a twist-turned cane example. Many of these ‘Elizabethan’ chairs are wholly Victorian in style, but some are accurate copies and others are deliberate fakes. The example in 8:6 falls into the last category and is all the more intriguing because the faker has combined English and Dutch styles without realising it.' Plate 8:6: 'Caned chair, walnut, 19th or early 20th century. This is a deliberate fake, combining elements of Dutch and English styles. Note the English-style double bine turning and square blocking of the lower frame, but lacking a rear stretcher. Montacute House, National Trust.' Image 8:6 in the above quotations is not W.35-1926, but this is a good reference for a similar piece.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
W.35-1926

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O368690/armchair-unknown/
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