Chair thumbnail 1
Chair thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Chair

1860-1890 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The carving in the back of this chair is copied directly from a design by Thomas Chippendale, published in his pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, in 1754. When the Museum acquired the chair, with three others and a matching armchair, it was believed to have been made in about 1760. However, it is now thought that the chairs were made at least a hundred years later, partly because they show very little sign of wear. They also replicate every detail of Chippendale's design, whereas an 18th-century maker would often copy a design more freely. The five chairs formerly belonged to the theatre designer and furniture historian Percy Macquoid, and were given to the Museum by his widow in 1925. Macquoid was the author of the first major history of English furniture (published 1904--08), but even he made occasional mistakes.


Object details

Category
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Chair
  • Drop-in Chair-Seat
Materials and techniques
Mahogany carved. Seat covered in gros point needlwork.
Brief description
Carved mahogany chair with pierced splat, on cabriole legs with pad feet. Drop-in seat upholstered in floral needlework. Part of a set of four plus an armchair.
Physical description
Chair, carved mahogany. The back has carved uprights and top rail and pierced central splat carved with a symmetrical design of scrollwork. Curved arms, partly fluted; the front of the seat bowed. Cabriole front legs carved with scrollwork at the knees ending in bun feet. The back legs are slightly curved and plain.The seat is covered with needlework, principally gros point, in coloured silks and wools with a design of tulips and carnations.
Dimensions
  • Length: 24.25in (Note: From Departmemtal records)
  • Height: 37.75in (Note: From Departmental records)
  • Width: 26.5in (Note: From Departmental records)
Credit line
Given by Theresa Macquoid in memory of her husband Percy Macquoid
Production
The chair-back is copied from a design in Thomas Chippendale's Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1st edition (1754), plate XII
Summary
The carving in the back of this chair is copied directly from a design by Thomas Chippendale, published in his pattern book, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, in 1754. When the Museum acquired the chair, with three others and a matching armchair, it was believed to have been made in about 1760. However, it is now thought that the chairs were made at least a hundred years later, partly because they show very little sign of wear. They also replicate every detail of Chippendale's design, whereas an 18th-century maker would often copy a design more freely. The five chairs formerly belonged to the theatre designer and furniture historian Percy Macquoid, and were given to the Museum by his widow in 1925. Macquoid was the author of the first major history of English furniture (published 1904--08), but even he made occasional mistakes.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
The splat is very similar to the right hand design in plate XII of Chippendale, Thomas, The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director, 1st Edition 1754 and 3rd Edition, 1763. Armchair from the set illustrated in English Chairs, V&A Museum with an introduction by Ralph Edwards, HMSO 1951, plate 70. The entry described the chair as 'Closely similar to a design dated 1753, Chippendale's Director, 1st Edition, 1754, plate XII and probably made by his firm'. There is no evidence to support this. Armchair from the set illustrated The Dictionary of English Furniture by Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards, revised by Ralph Edwards, Volume One, Country Life 1953, Fig. 164.
Collection
Accession number
W.47&:2-1925

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Record createdJune 6, 2003
Record URL
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