The mahogany open armchair or elbow chair in the Chinese Chippendale style with high domed arch lattice panel back and curved arm supports, having a leather upholstered drop in seat on square legs, united by stretchers survives from the last quarter of eighteenth century England.
Unknown.
The most widely known English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779) was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. The Chippendale style is often described as being an anglicised type of Rococo, and Rococo is one of the styles Chippendale encompasses, along with Gothic and Chinese.
Chinese Chippendale creations often included cabinets and shelves for china, and typically features pagoda-style pediments and glazing bars arranged in a fretwork design. This fretwork was also used on the edges of tea tables and on the backs and legs of chairs, often coated with lacquer. The design motif comes from his interest in incorporating Chinese and other Asian designs into some of his furniture, which are now sought after antiques that are widely copied. The repetitive geometric line patterns, usually within a rectangular framework as we see here, are varied and beautiful, and complex for a cabinet-maker to execute.
A stunning timeless piece of furniture that simply glides into any interior due to the genius of its design.
The chair has just about as much character and patination as you could hope for without being in need of any restoration. The leather is beautifully worn in and part distressed but not torn, the wood has taken on a beautiful colour that you would hope and there isn’t any obvious restoration to speak of. The arms bear the most wear, as one would expect, with the whole bearing the most splendid colour.
By appointment only.
