 |
| Drawing Room Chair of Mahogany Thomas Chippendale 1740-60 This and all related images from: The Victoria & Albert Museum |
Myriad variations of this upholstered drawing-room armchair could have been found in almost any wealthy, mid-18th century household. This particular mahogany chair is exceptional because it came from the workshop of Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779). The carver has used stylized dolphin heads as terminals for the chair's feet and the arms.
Chippendale's original design incorporated the whole body of the dolphin - its tail visible at the top of the leg, but the carver has adapted the design, possibly because this chair was likely part of a set which was a special commission. The scale of the chair and quality of the carving are further indicators that this chair was part of a commission for a set of seating furniture for a large drawing room. According to the V&A, "At least four other chairs and a footstool of the same carved design are known today."
Thomas Chippendale recommended that tapestry or needlework should be used for drawing-room chairs almost exclusively over other materials. The embroidery on this chair probably dates from the 1740s and may have been cut down from a set of larger wall hangings.
This chair is numbered "IV" of a set of six. Another from the set lives at the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool and four others were shown by Messrs. Partridge in their summer exhibition in 1939.
No comments:
Post a Comment