Chair made of macassar ebony and mahogany veneered with ebony, the octagonal back panel caned, the drop-in seat upholstered.

Low-backed, high-seated chair for a dressing table, made of macassar ebony and mahogany veneered with macassar ebony, the octagonal back panel caned, the drop-in seat upholstered. The chair is inset with ivory stringing on the edges of the back and the top of the seat rail.
The legs are square-sectioned and tapering, the outer edges of the front legs chamfered. The legs are joined by a low x-stretcher, bridle-jointed in the centre, the top edges moulded, as is the top of the seat rail. The front of the frame of the back is cross-banded in macassar ebony. The back edge of the frame of the back is chamfered on the inner edges. The chair is of standard mortise-and-tenon construction. The seat frame is reinforced with shaped corner blocks, each attached with two machine-made screws. The seat is upholstered in grey-green artificial silk satin brocaded with trios of leaves in off-white, a yellow grey-green and rust red. The underside shows very bright tacks, suggesting that the upholstery has been renewed.
The caning appears to be original, with double orthogonal strands, but these are the same width as the diagonals, not thinner.
It has been noted that the chair is veneered on mahogany. it is however, extremely heavy, suggesting that the legs and uprights may be in solid macassar ebony.

Part of a set of bedroom furniture (W.3-1975 to W.13-1975) designed for Dodie Smith, probably by J.F. Johnson and made by Heals.

The octagonal back of the chair is reminiscent of a design by Christopher Dresser. A prototype of that design was made by Thomas Knight of Bath for the Art Furnisher's Alliance. It was offered for sale by the dealer Paul Shutler and published in 'The Antique Trades Gazette', 15 May 2021. The design for the chair is held in the Thomas Knight archive at the V&A.

This chair was made in London but shows the influence of fashionable Parisian furniture. At the time it was made Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann was a leading designer. Like Ruhlmann's furniture, it uses rare materials, including ebony veneer. The slender legs and delicate lines are similar to Art Deco furniture from Paris. They are also, to a lesser extent, similar to the French furniture in the neo-classical style made during the period 1770-1800 that influenced designers like Ruhlmann.

The design is probably by J.F. Johnson, who was designing furniture for Heal & Sons at the time. The London firm is more usually associated with the Arts and Crafts style, and this dressing table shows that it was keeping abreast of fashion in the 1920s.

The set of bedroom furniture, of which this forms part (W.3-1975 to W.13-1975) was made for the author Dodie Smith.

W.7-1975