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

Stool

1740-1760 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

When the Museum acquired this stool in 1862, it was painted white with gilt decoration and upholstered with a 19th-century silk dress material. White and gold decoration was thought at that time to be typical of 18th-century French furniture, but in fact very little French seating furniture was gilded in the 18th century. Underneath the 19th-century surface are the remains of dark and pale blue paint, which was probably the original decoration. In the 1970s the stool was repainted in these colours, and also reupholstered with its present blue silk cover.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Carved and painted beech; silk, metal-thread braid, linen or hemp base cloth, modern foam filling
Brief description
Rectangular stool on tall cabriole legs, the beechwood frame painted in recent years in two shades of blue, the modern upholstery of the seat covered in blue silk edged with silver-thread trimming of lace-like form.
Physical description
Rectangular stool on tall cabriole legs, the beechwood frame painted in recent years in two shades of blue, the modern upholstery of the seat covered in blue silk edged with silver-thread trimming of lace-like form. Possibly original hemp(?) plain-weave webbing in an open lattice supporting a linen or hemp base cloth, modern foam filling (instead of stuffing).
Dimensions
  • Maximum height: 45cm
  • To top of front leg (felt underneath the upholstery) height: 40cm
  • Maximum, at knees of legs width: 53cm
  • At top of front feet width: 52cm
  • Maximum, at knees of legs depth: 38cm
  • At top of feet depth: 36.5cm
Measured 5 December 2006
Styles
Object history
This stool, which was amongst the earliest pieces of furniture acquired by the Museum, was re-upholstered in the 1970s, a period when many experiments in re-creating historic upholstery were being made.
Summary
When the Museum acquired this stool in 1862, it was painted white with gilt decoration and upholstered with a 19th-century silk dress material. White and gold decoration was thought at that time to be typical of 18th-century French furniture, but in fact very little French seating furniture was gilded in the 18th century. Underneath the 19th-century surface are the remains of dark and pale blue paint, which was probably the original decoration. In the 1970s the stool was repainted in these colours, and also reupholstered with its present blue silk cover.
Collection
Accession number
7895-1862

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Record createdFebruary 27, 2004
Record URL
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