Mahogany ladder-back chair, with upholstered seat and square section legs, 1750-1775, English

A mahogany ladder-back chair, with upholstered seat and square section legs. The back legs are raked, with a pronounced kick at foot level. All the legs are chamfered on the inner corner. The ‘H’ stretcher and the additional back stretcher, set slightly higher, are rectangular in section with a rounded top edge.

The seat tapers out towards the front, with a serpentine front edge. It is fully upholstered in gold coloured cotton velvet with beige gimp edging (chairs A and B of this set have green damask upholstery) but on the back rail the upholstery is fitted under an applied, separate, strip of mahogany, which has scratch mouldings along either edge. The outside of the back rail is veneered.

The rectangular back, with out-curving upper corners, is joined by three wavy, pierced cross rails. The uprights are joined by a similar top rail, which has an additional central circle of wood within the piercing. All the rails are slightly concave in plan and the top rail is set further back than the cross rail.

Construction:
The chair is mortise and tenon in construction. The seat rails of beech are set with open corner braces in beech.
The upholstery shows black and white chevron webbing and a jute base cloth, probably early or mid 20th century.

Given by A. H. Daukes.

Gift of Mr A.H. Daukes of Egerton Gardens.

The term 'ladder back' refers to a popular pattern of chair in the 18th century. Chair backs with horizontal back splats set between two uprights appeared as early as the middle of the 17th century. At that time the splats were generally scrolled. A plain ladder back were made in country areas in the early 18th century. A more sophisticated version, usually made in mahogany, became fashionable in towns and cities from around the mid 18th century and was produced in large numbers with variations of carving and piercing.

W.33-1954