Object Description
This is a very handsome antique French walnut window seat / ottoman, Circa 1890 in date.
It is upholstered in close-nailed and buttoned pink and brown tweed, the serpentine seat rail is centred by a pierced C scroll apron, and it is raised on elegant cabriole legs
Condition:
In excellent condition having been reupholstered in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.
Dimensions in cm:
Height 44 cm x Width 117 cm x Depth 57 cm
Dimensions in inches:
Height 1 foot, 5 inches x Width 3 foot, 10 inches x Depth 1 foot, 10 inches
Walnut & Burr Walnut
Walnut is a hard, dense, tight- grained wood that polishes to a very smooth finish. It is a popular and attractive wood whose colour ranges from near white in the sapwood to a dark hew in the heartwood. When dried in a kiln, walnut wood tends to develop a dull brown colour, but when air-dried can become a rich purplish-brown. Because of its colour, hardness and grain, it is a prized furniture and carving wood. Walnut veneer was highly priced and the cost would reflect the ‘fanciness’ of the veneer – the more decorative, then the more expensive and desirable.
Burr walnut refers to the swirling figure present in nearly all walnut when cut and polished, and especially in the wood taken from the base of the tree where it joins the roots. However the true burr is a rare growth on the tree where hundreds of tiny branches have started to grow. Burr walnut produces some of the most complex and beautiful figuring you can find.
Ottoman
is a piece of furniture consisting of a padded, upholstered seat or bench, usually having neither a back nor arms, often used as a stool or footstool Ottomans are often sold as coordinating furniture with armchairs or gliders.
The first known use of the word ottoman was in 1605. The ottoman was brought to Europe from Turkey in the late 18th century. In Turkey, an ottoman was the central piece of family seating, and was piled with cushions.
In Europe, the ottoman was first designed as a piece of fitted furniture that wrapped around three walls of a room. The ottoman evolved into a smaller version that fit into the corner of a room.
Ottomans took on a circular or octagonal shape through the 19th century, with seating divided in the center by arms or a central, padded column that might hold a plant or statue.
George Bernard Shaw referred to an ottoman in this passage from his novel Pygmalion; “In the middle of the room there is a big ottoman; and this, with the carpet, the Morris wall-papers, and the Morris chintz window curtains and brocade covers of the ottoman and its cushions, supply all the ornament, and are much too handsome to be hidden by odds and ends of useless things.”
Our reference: A4293