Settee thumbnail 1
Settee thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On display at Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley

Settee

ca. 1780-1800 (joinery), ca. 1754-70 (tapestry weaving)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This object is part of a set of four armchairs and a settee that were made in France between 1780 and 1800. The design of the frames was a very popular one and was made by a number of menuisiers, as the makers of carved furniture were called. Some made highly carved versions, but these are simply moulded. The tapestry covers were made some years earlier, for the kind of larger chairs that were fashionable in the 1750s and 1760s. They were only put on to these frames in the nineteenth century, when such tapestries became highly fashionable amongst antique collectors. The back panels are woven with Chinoiseries, figures in Chinese-style dress in fanciful settings, while the seats are woven with scenes of animals from La Fontaine's 'Fables'.

On loan to Cliffe Castle Museum.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Turned and carved beech, joined by mortise-and-tenon construction, water gilded (more than once), upholstered with stitched edges and covered with Aubusson tapestry of silk and wool (not original to the frames), outlined with brass nailing
Brief description
Settee with frame of moulded and gilded beechwood, French, ca. 1780-1800, upholstered in Aubusson tapestry, ca. 1754-70, the back with a Chinese woman with three children, the seat with the fable of the Jay adorned with Peacock feathers
Physical description
Settee with frame of moulded and gilded beechwood, upholstered in Aubusson tapestry, the back with a Chinese woman with three children, the seat with the fable of the Jay adorned with Peacock feathers
Dimensions
  • Height: 105cm
  • Width: 161.5cm
  • Depth: 65cm
  • To visible top of seat rail height: 33.2cm
  • To top edge of seat, measured at centre front height: 41.2cm
Dimensions checked on object 25/02/2010
Style
Credit line
Given by P.W. Mallet
Object history
By repute the property in the 19th century of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn (1802-1880) and purchased by Mr Travers Smith; by descent to Miss A.V. Mallet and thence to P.W. Mallet (d. 1945), by whom donated to the Museum in 1941.
Literary referenceFable of the Jay adorned with Peacock feathers on the seat
Summary
This object is part of a set of four armchairs and a settee that were made in France between 1780 and 1800. The design of the frames was a very popular one and was made by a number of menuisiers, as the makers of carved furniture were called. Some made highly carved versions, but these are simply moulded. The tapestry covers were made some years earlier, for the kind of larger chairs that were fashionable in the 1750s and 1760s. They were only put on to these frames in the nineteenth century, when such tapestries became highly fashionable amongst antique collectors. The back panels are woven with Chinoiseries, figures in Chinese-style dress in fanciful settings, while the seats are woven with scenes of animals from La Fontaine's 'Fables'.

On loan to Cliffe Castle Museum.
Collection
Accession number
W.15-1941

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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