Armchair
ca. 1755-1765 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This armchair (the pair to W.17-1977) originally formed one of a set of four settees and at least twenty-five armchairs, made for the Earl of Shaftesbury at St Giles’s House, in Dorset. They may have been made for a large saloon or drawing room, or perhaps for a long suite of rooms. The set was probably made in the workshop of William Vile and John Cobb, one of the most accomplished furniture-making firms of the 18th century. Vile’s specialism was carving, and it is likely that he designed these chairs and supervised their making in the workshop. He had trained with William Hallett, who had also made furniture for Lord Shaftesbury from 1744 until his own retirement, in 1752.
The modern silk covers, put on by the Museum, were dyed to match a surviving fragment of the original, and the chairs have been upholstered in the traditional 18th-century manner, with tufting, piping (or ‘welting’) and close nailing.
The modern silk covers, put on by the Museum, were dyed to match a surviving fragment of the original, and the chairs have been upholstered in the traditional 18th-century manner, with tufting, piping (or ‘welting’) and close nailing.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved mahogany on a beech under-frame |
| Brief description | Carved mahogany armchair with rectangular buttoned back, upholstered in green, from St Giles's House, English, ca. 1755-1765 |
| Physical description | Mahogany armchair with rectangular stuffed back and stuffed seat, the shaped padded arms on the down curved supports headed by flower heads and carved with chains of flowers on a trellis and rosette pattern ground, the sea trails carved with scallop-shells and flower heads divided by leaf-scroll sprays and with a rosette and ribbon lower moulding, the square legs carved similarly to the arms and ending in guttae feet. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label | (W.16 & 17-1977)
PAIR OF ARMCHAIRS
ENGLISH; about 1755
Mahogany
Attributed to William Hallett (d.1770) of Long Acre, London. Part of a set of furniture made for St. Giles house, Dorset.
Given by Mr. And Mrs. Francis Hock.(pre October 2000) |
| Credit line | Given by Mr and Mrs Francis Hock |
| Production | This chair and its pair (W.17-1977) were formerly attributed to William Hallett, on the strength of the payments to him in the accounts of the 4th Earl of Shaftesbury, 1745--52 (see DEFM, p. 389). However, the chairs are unlikely to date from before 1755 at the very earliest, and Hallett appears to have effectively retired in the early 1750s (though he afterwards provided financial backing to the partnership of Vile & Cobb, established c. 1752). William Vile, who had been Hallett's principal journeyman, is quite likely to have retained the custom of Lord Shaftesbury. A stylistic link is presented by the stools supplied by Vile & Cobb to The Vyne, Hampshire, in 1753, which have similar feet in the form of architectural guttae (Anthony Coleridge, Chippendale Furniture (1968), p. 27, fig. 28). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This armchair (the pair to W.17-1977) originally formed one of a set of four settees and at least twenty-five armchairs, made for the Earl of Shaftesbury at St Giles’s House, in Dorset. They may have been made for a large saloon or drawing room, or perhaps for a long suite of rooms. The set was probably made in the workshop of William Vile and John Cobb, one of the most accomplished furniture-making firms of the 18th century. Vile’s specialism was carving, and it is likely that he designed these chairs and supervised their making in the workshop. He had trained with William Hallett, who had also made furniture for Lord Shaftesbury from 1744 until his own retirement, in 1752. The modern silk covers, put on by the Museum, were dyed to match a surviving fragment of the original, and the chairs have been upholstered in the traditional 18th-century manner, with tufting, piping (or ‘welting’) and close nailing. |
| Associated object | W.17-1977 (Set) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.16-1977 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | January 25, 2001 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
