Object Literature
The influences on Regency design and taste were legion; from Sheraton’s neoclassicism, Henry Holland’s Anglo-French taste, the Greek revival of Thomas Hope, and the Chinoiserie favoured by the Prince Regent, to an interest in the Gothic, Old English and rustic. The Regency attitude to interior decoration often involved treating each room as a unit with individual furnishings and wall decorations in harmony of theme or colour scheme.
The family that owned this piece of furniture originally would have had it painted with the idea of it simulating an ebonised piece and thus make them appear wealthier. Ironic now that currently you could argue that this type of surface is more prized commercially than, for instance, a mahogany chair of this period.
A very decorative antique chair from a strong period and one that could be used at desk, dining table or hallway with equal aplomb.