Chair carved mahogany, with upholstered seat.

Chair, in carved mahogany. Slightly tapering reeded back uprights, curving outwards squared top-corners. Curved top-rail carded in low relief with foliage. Halfway down splat each vertical bar is pierced with Gothic shaped arches. Serpentine fronted seat with modern upholstery of plain, red woven fabric close-nailed around edge. The underside is covered in plain black fabric, which is stapled on.

Given by Mr Eric M Browett in memory of his wife Ada Mary Browett

Given by Eric Browett in memory of his wife. Mr Browett gave more than twenty pieces of English furniture, mostly of the second half of the eighteenth century (W.46 to W.74-1937). Most of the pieces were shown together in Gallery 44 on first acquisition (neg. no. 77456).

For a discussion of the whole Browett collection see: Ralph Edwards, 'The Browett Gift of English Furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum', Country Life, 9 October 1937, p. 380-381.
Chair, gift of Mr. Eric. M. Browett. It was listed by Browett as a “Fine ‘Gothic’ single chair" in correspondence dated 29th June 1937.

Mr Eric.M. Browett of Edgbaston, Birmingham, first contacted the museum on 7 February 1920 to request a valuation for two pieces from his collection. He mentioned that he would bequeath his collection to the ‘British & S.K. Museums’. Over the next seven years he was in regular communication with the Departmentt of Ceramics, and donated many pieces including insurance plates, furniture and ceramics. The early history of this chair is not known.

A set of four chairs from the same pattern (though not identical, and without stretchers) were sold at Sotheby's, London, 23 May 1980, lot 197. The catalogue entry refers to others of this pattern illustrated in P. Macquoid, A History of English Furniture. The Age of Mahogany (1906), fig. 249. Another version is illustrated in Moss Harris & Sons, The English Chair (1948), p.139, plate LXVII.

Chairs in 18th century style were again fashionable in around 1900. Reproduction chairs of a similar design to this 18th century example were supplied in about 1903 by the decorator Joubert for Lyme Park, Cheshire.

This chair is influenced by designs for gothic-style furniture published by Thomas Chippendale in The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1754-1763. Although it does not relate exactly to one of the designs, it incorporates elements from the chair-backs in Plate XXI of the 1754 edition and Plate XVI of the 1763 edition. Chippendale's Director was used as inspiration by furniture makers both in London and elsewhere. Such chairs were used for dining or as parlour chairs.

This object is on loan to Sewerby Hall.

W.73-1937