Not currently on display at the V&A

Armchair

ca. 1860-70 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

It is extremely rare for seating furniture to retain its original upholstery and survivors are therefore valuable documents of both style and techniques. This large and throne-like armchair was said to have come from Paris in about 1871, after the Siege of Paris. Certainly, it is likely that it was made in that city, where upholstery was a particular skill at the time, providing comfortable seating for a society newly awake to the idea of lounging. Upholsterers created furniture which relied almost entirely on the splendour of the upholstery and its trimmings for its effect, although here it is framed in ambitious carving. The red and gold scheme on this chair would have been reflected or complemented in its original setting by the heavy draped curtains on windows and doors, perhaps by silk hangings on the walls, and certainly by a soft and colourful carpet. The style of the chair reflects interest in the historic styles of the 18th century but, as a comfortable chair for relaxing, was not in any sense a reproduction, but a wholly new furniture type. It may have stood in a room with more upright chairs and settees in the rococo style of Louis XV, but also perhaps with some matching chairs and perhaps with a matching sofa.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Carved and gilded wood (probably beech), with silk upholstery
Brief description
Armchair with continuous back and arms, the whole upholstered in silk damask, the frame of carved and gilded wood, with two figures of putti, ca. 1860-1870, Paris
Physical description
Armchair with continuous back and arms, the whole upholstered in silk damask, the frame of carved and gilded wood, with two figures of putti, almost life size, providing arm supports at the front. The armchair has a spoon-shaped back, the continuous rail carved on both back and front with flowers alternating with foliage within a trefoil, all gilded. The central cresting of the back is carved with floral sprays centreing on acanthus, and the ends of the arms are carved with acanthus volutes, supported on each side by a kneeling putto or child, carved in the round and almost life-sized. On the back the deep seat rail is carved with large scrolls, alternately centred by palmettes or sunflowers. The original upholstery survives, of red and gold flowered silk, the eges corded and the base set with a deep and complex fringe. The seat has a separate cushion with a welt, corded on the top and bottom edges and buttoned.
DimensionsNo dimensions in the departmental register
Credit line
Given by Sir Alan N. Drury
Object history
Given to the Museum by Sir Alan Drury, who was Director of the Lister Institute, London, from 1943-52. Three photographs on the Acquisition Registered File (Nominal File: Drury, Sir Alan, CBE, MD, MA/1/D1669) show the armchair in a sitting room. The address of Sir Alan was given as the Lister Institute and it seems likely that it came when he was, perhaps, moving from official quarters on his retirement. Sir Alan had given two 17th-century chairs to the National Trust and Robin Fedden of the National Trust had recommended that he offer the chair to the Museum. According to a letter from Robin Fedden to Ralph Edwards, Keeper of Furniture and Woodwork, it was 'reputed to have come from Paris as loot in 1870', i.e. after the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The style is indicative of that date but there is no other information to support it, or to suggest when it was acquired by the Drury family.
Summary
It is extremely rare for seating furniture to retain its original upholstery and survivors are therefore valuable documents of both style and techniques. This large and throne-like armchair was said to have come from Paris in about 1871, after the Siege of Paris. Certainly, it is likely that it was made in that city, where upholstery was a particular skill at the time, providing comfortable seating for a society newly awake to the idea of lounging. Upholsterers created furniture which relied almost entirely on the splendour of the upholstery and its trimmings for its effect, although here it is framed in ambitious carving. The red and gold scheme on this chair would have been reflected or complemented in its original setting by the heavy draped curtains on windows and doors, perhaps by silk hangings on the walls, and certainly by a soft and colourful carpet. The style of the chair reflects interest in the historic styles of the 18th century but, as a comfortable chair for relaxing, was not in any sense a reproduction, but a wholly new furniture type. It may have stood in a room with more upright chairs and settees in the rococo style of Louis XV, but also perhaps with some matching chairs and perhaps with a matching sofa.
Collection
Accession number
W.45-1952

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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