Chair
1850 (designed), ca. 1850 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A.W.N. Pugin designed the original example of this chair for the House of Commons in 1850. He provided a skech for his specification of a light but strong chair, to be covered in green leather, the traditional colour for upholstery in the House of Commons, with brass nails. The chair became the standard model for the lobbies, refreshment rooms, libraries and offices of the House of Commons and a slightly different version was produced for the House of Lords. By 1870 examples of the House of Commons chair were in use in other public buildings, including the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Museum Boardroom was furnished with a large set of these chairs, including this example. They were recovered using Pugin's original specification in 1974 and others of the set remain in use.
Gillow & Co., a large and successful firm of furniture makers, was commissioned to make furniture for the House of Commons from 1851. Their stamp is on the underside of the seat frame of this chair and this suggests that they made examples of Pugin's House of Commons design for other commissions.
Gillow & Co., a large and successful firm of furniture makers, was commissioned to make furniture for the House of Commons from 1851. Their stamp is on the underside of the seat frame of this chair and this suggests that they made examples of Pugin's House of Commons design for other commissions.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Oak, chamfered, with modern green leather covers and brass nails |
| Brief description | Chair, carved and chamfered oak, upholstered in modern green leather with brass nailing, following the original pattern; designed 1850 by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, made in Britain ca. 1850 by Gillow & Co |
| Physical description | Oak chair, chamfered, with modern green leather covers and brass nails and an inventory stamp on the underside of the back seat rail (probably an inventory mark for the reign of King Edward VII). |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Crown
'ERVII' (Stamped into the underside of the back seat rail.
May be Inventory mark for reign of King Edward VII (1901-1910). Set of chairs thought to be part of 19th century Museum office furniture and previously used in the Boardroom. Could some Museum furniture have been checked as part of official inventory 1901-1910?)
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| Object history | W. 25-1974 is from a set of six, previously in the Museum Boardroom, which are stamped by Gillow and bear an inventory stamp for King Edward VII, suggesting that they were part of the Museum's office furniture by 1901 and possilby earlier. Chairs of the same design are shown in an illustration of prize-gving in the Lecture Theatre in the South Kensington Museum in 1870 - see A Grand Design, edited by Malcolm Baker and Brenda Richardson, 1997, page 111, fig. 70. This chair was recovered in modern green leather by Carole Thomerson in 1984, using leather from Bridge of Wier and brass studs supplied by R.J. Sharman Ltd of Croydon. |
| Historical context | A.W.N. Pugin originally designed chairs of this type for the lobbies of the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster in about November 1850. It was made in large numbers subsequently for other parts of the House of Commons including the refreshment rooms, libraries and offices. A lighter, more elaborate version was made as the standard chair for the House of Lords. Both Gillows and Holland & Sons provided furniture for the Palace, the former from 1851 and the latter from 1856. |
| Summary | A.W.N. Pugin designed the original example of this chair for the House of Commons in 1850. He provided a skech for his specification of a light but strong chair, to be covered in green leather, the traditional colour for upholstery in the House of Commons, with brass nails. The chair became the standard model for the lobbies, refreshment rooms, libraries and offices of the House of Commons and a slightly different version was produced for the House of Lords. By 1870 examples of the House of Commons chair were in use in other public buildings, including the South Kensington Museum, now the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Museum Boardroom was furnished with a large set of these chairs, including this example. They were recovered using Pugin's original specification in 1974 and others of the set remain in use. Gillow & Co., a large and successful firm of furniture makers, was commissioned to make furniture for the House of Commons from 1851. Their stamp is on the underside of the seat frame of this chair and this suggests that they made examples of Pugin's House of Commons design for other commissions. |
| Associated object | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.25-1974 |
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| Record created | September 28, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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