The mystery chair

Two or more years ago, I purchased this chair at a local estate sale. I knew the chair had age to it but it was so dark in the house I could not do a thorough examination. As I was carrying the chair to the car, the slip seat (at that time upholstered) fell out, giving me the first clue that this was a late 18^th/early 19^th century chair.

Further examination of the construction of the chair confirmed that it was indeed a “period” chair, but where was it made? That still remains a mystery. The distinguishing features of the chair are its “square” back with vase or urn shaped splat and the stringing and inlay on the back and the front rail and legs. The seat has a serpentine front rail and curved side rails with a slip seat. The front legs are tapered joined by stretchers. The primary wood is mahogany with pine secondary wood.

Back view showing the vase shaped splat

 Sheraton's Drawing Book, Plate 36

So, where to begin? The obvious place seemed to be the design of the splat. I knew that chair backs of this design were very popular in New York chairs of the federal period. The general design is taken from the 1794 edition of Sheraton's Drawing Book, Plate 36, No. 1.  Albert Sack shows two examples (one of poor quality, one “best”) and Charles Montgomery, American Furniture The Federal Period, illustrates three examples from the Winterthur collection. Two of these (plates 58 and 60) have carved backs and one (plate 59) has stringing and “engraved” inlays instead of carving.

New York chair with carved splat, seat upholstered over the rails and spade feet

So, from this initial, cursory investigation, one might draw the conclusion that my chair is from New York. Too early to make that leap, however. The New York chairs are much more sophisticated in both design and execution, making it unlikely my chair was from a major metropolitan area such as New York City or Albany. In addition, the New York examples all have bowed rather than serpentine seat fronts and are upholstered over the rails, rather than having slip seats. The New York examples also all have spade feet rather than plain tapered legs and lack stretchers. According to Montgomery, “stringing is uncommon on New York chairs [and] slip seats are seldom found on New York chairs of the Federal period." Where next?

"Tapered legs braced by stretchers were the norm for New England chairs of the early federal period [and] about equal numbers were left plain or were ornamented with two single strings of light colored wood running through to the floor or were molded" (Montgomery, p. 71). This general description fits my chair but the stringing is not a single line but a combination of light, dark light wood and the stringing does not run through to the floor but stops at a narrow “cuff” about 2 3/4” from the floor.

What origin do the seat shape and method of construction indicate?  According to Montgomery and from the examples in Sack, almost all New England chairs of this period have a stuffed seat upholstered over the rails and most have bowed, rather then serpentine, fronts. So, based on these features and the fact that the only New England example I can find of a square back with a vase splat is a very sophisticated painted chair from Boston attributed to the Seymours (Montgomery, plate 36), a New England origin seems unlikely. 

Boston painted chair

Quite the cliffhanger. Stay tuned for episode 2.

Something new … Russian silver

Sometime back I purchased at an out-of-town “antique” mall a pair of candlesticks. They were priced as if they were silverplate but I thought from the way they were made and the presence and location of multiple marks that they were probably solid silver. I took a chance and bought them. Initially, I was unable to decipher the marks and, although several people expressed interest in them, I was unwilling to price them when I wasn't sure what they were. Someone even suggested they might be polished pewter rather than silver. In one of my “shop rearrangings” I packed them away. I had forgotten about them and then could not remember what I had done with them. I was digging for some other things last week and found them again.

A pair of Russian silver candlesticks, St. Petersburg 1824.

This time (perhaps new reading glasses helped), I was able to figure out the marks and it turns out the sticks are Russian silver. I'm still trying to figure out the maker's mark – my Cyrillic is not very good – but they bear the assay and city mark for St. Petersburg and a date of 1824.

This is my first experience with Russian silver. The sticks definitely draw the attention because of the obvious quality of their workmanship. (They were on top of a tall cabinet when they initially caught my eye.) While the use of foliage motif decoration is something they have in common with English examples of the same period, you can see that in overall design and “flavor” they are much different, as might be expected.

One of the Russian sticks shown with two examples of Old Sheffield Plate sticks of the same period

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

The Classical Influence, part 2

In the previous post I mentioned the use of ancient, classical motifs as decoration in the designs of Robert and James Adam and the guides of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, contrasting this with early 19^th century attempts to emulate the designs of ancient furniture. In this post I will show some examples of this use of “classical motifs” in furniture and decorative arts.

One obvious use of classical motifs is the column. Chippendale's Director includes renderings of the classical orders and some of his designs incorporate them, e.g. chimney pieces and clock cases. American Chippendale furniture of the 18^th century also utilized the classical orders, especially in case pieces such as secretaries and highboys.

A widely adopted use of the classical column was for candlesticks. Pictured below is a pair of Old Sheffield Plate candlesticks in the form of Doric columns from around 1770. (They are marked with “pseudo hallmarks” which were banned in 1773.)

Old Sheffield Plate candlesticks in the form of Doric columns, English c. 1770.

The vase or urn shape was an especially popular classical motif and was widely used in both furniture and other decorative arts. Pictured below is a Hepplewhite chair which uses the vase or urn shape in the general design of its “shield back” as well as incorporating it into the carving within the shield. Hepplewhite style mirrors are another example.

Hepplewhite side chair, mahogany, English, late 18^th or early 19th century. One of a set of six.

Hepplewhite style mirror, 20^th century.

This shape was especially popular in the design of neoclassical style silver of the late 18^th century. Illustrated below are several examples of various table items in this shape as well as a sugar basket or cream pail decorated with a medallion of a classical figure.

Old Sheffield Plate soup tureen, English c. 1780.

Old Sheffield Plate hot water or tea urn, English c. 1780. Old Sheffield Plate hot water jug, English c. 1780. Jugs or ewers of this type were also used for serving claret.

Old Sheffield Plate sugar basket or cream pail, English c. 1780. The body is formed of four pieces joined together.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

The Classical Influence

Throughout the 18^th century, the architecture and art of ancient Greece and Rome were the predominant influence on architecture and design in Great Britain and North America. This classical or “antique” taste is readily seen in the design of buildings and the decoration of rooms, especially in the work of the Adam brothers.

The dining room of Landsdowne House, London, designed by Robert Adam, as installed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While ancient, classical motifs were widely used as decoration in the designs of Robert and James Adam and the guides of Hepplewhite and Sheraton, there were limited attempts to utilize or emulate the actual forms of ancient furniture.

Ancient Greek vase painting showing  a woman playing a lyre seated on a klismos.

Ancient Greek stele depicting a woman seated on a klismos.

This did not really occur until the early 19^th century in Britain with the designs of Thomas Hope, who set out to reproduce ancient Greek forms, particularly chairs, and the work of such firms as Gillows of Lancaster.

Chair designs by Thomas Hope.

English mahogany chair (one of a pair) of the Regency/George IV period with low curving crest rail and reeded legs.

Side view showing the “klismos” shape.

In the young United States, this influence was especially strong in classical furniture of major metropolitan areas such as New York and Philadelphia and the painted furniture of Baltimore.

New York classical chair, mahogany, c.1820

Side view showing the continuous line from the top of the stiles to the bottom of the front legs.

Baltimore painted chair, c.1820, decorated with classical motifs in gilt. The overall shape is closer to that of the English chair than the New York example.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

Classically British ...

I'm not sure what “style” to call a room such as this: classically modern, traditional with a twist, eclectic? I'd probably settle on “classically British.”

Design by Erik Karlsen (London) via Decor & Design Review http://decordesignreview.tumblr.com/

However one describes it, it's a great looking space, containing a variety of pieces mixed in age and style, from a pair of Chippendale side chairs on either side of a contemporary plate glass desk to a Hepplewhite side chair in the right foreground to a Regency or Empire looking bench in left foreground, all against a neutral background. To my eye, what unifies the room and makes it work is the consistent high quality and scale of the pieces. It certainly shows that “brown” furniture has a place in successful contemporary design.

A Centennial Chippendale style mahogany side chair, based on New York designs, American c. 1890

Antique chairs are a great and economical way both to furnish a room and start building a collection. High quality individual chairs are available for a few hundred dollars and pairs of chairs for not much more than that.

One of a pair of Philadelphia Chippendale pierced slat mahogany side chairs, American c. 1780

Prices are better (for the buyer) now than they have been in a long, long time so the opportunity is ripe to acquire quality pieces.

Pictured are a few pieces currently available from my inventory and other dealers on the street have comparable pieces.

A Centennial Chippendale Gothic style mahogany side chair, based on Philadelphia designs, American c. 1900

One of a pair of George IV mahogany drawing room chairs, English c. 1825


R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com 

Why I'm not a decorator...

I would never have thought of using these sconces

in a bathroom until I saw this

from The Foo Dog Ate My Homework.  I guess I was on the right track with the Chippendale mirror.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com

Four chairs from two centuries and two continents

In this post and several to follow, I am going to examine and compare four different chairs, two from North America and two from Europe, one from the last quarter of the 18^th century and three from the first quarter of the 19^th century.

Philadelphia Chippendale Chair c. 1780

The first chair, actually one of a pair, is a Philadelphia Chippendale chair from about 1780, or perhaps a little earlier. The design is a very well documented Philadelphia style and is variously described as “ladder-back” (Fine Points of Furniture, Early American by Albert Sack, 1950 ed., p.48), “slat or splat back” (American Furniture, The Federal Period by Charles F. Montgomery, plate 83), and sometimes “ribbon back.” The chair has three serpentine curved, pierced slats or splats, rounded shoulders and a serpentine curved, pierced crest rail. The legs are square/straight with a beaded edge. The seat front is straight with a beaded edge. The chair is constructed of mahogany with pine secondary woods. The chair (and its mate as well) has the original pine slip-seat frame chisel-marked “I”. (The other chair is marked “III” and the slip-seat “II” so they were part of a larger set and at least two slip-seats were switched.)

Philadelphia Chippendale chair, side view

 Albert Sack rates such a chair as “best” on his “good, better, best” scale with this commentary:

Chippendale mahogany ladder-back side chair, Philadelphia, circa 1750-1780. A typical example of a fine Philadelphia chair. Dozens of similar sets of this pattern were made in and around Philadelphia. The rounded contours where the back posts meet the crest and the typical serpentine crest with its molded edge vary but little in the many examples in existence. The chief differences occur in the seat fronts, which are sometimes straight and sometimes serpentine – also in the legs which are either molded or have a beaded edge.

The earlier examples tend to have a straight seat front and straight or square legs with beaded edges, the later serpentine seat fronts with tapered, molded legs.

Straight or square leg with beaded edge

The chair listed by Montgomery is described as “with round shoulders” and has the following commentary:

William Macpherson Hornor, Jr., states that Thomas Tufft made a set of twelve of this kind for Deborah Norris Logan of Stenton in 1783 and that six others were fashioned by Jacob Wayne for Captain Thomas Mason in 1790. An example of each set is illustrated in The Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture, Plates 289 and 101, respectively. Both chairs are virtually identical to the one shown here. All three have stretchers, molded tapered legs, slip seats, and serpentine front rails. Two other chairs in the Winterthur collection, almost identical to this pair except for having straight seat fronts, have the side rails tenoned through the back legs in the normal manner of Philadelphia chairmaking. These are not tenoned through the rear legs. 

Round shoulder and pierced, serpentine crest rail

 Montgomery also illustrates an armchair of similar design and Sack four New England Chairs with similar pierced horizontal slats but with “ears” rather than round shoulders. The chair (pair) discussed here does not have the side rails tenoned through the back legs but, as noted above and in other Winterthur examples, while this technique was common in Philadelphia chairmaking it was not universal.

Pine slip-seat frame with chisel mark "I"

 A pair of chairs believed to be part of the Logan family chairs were recently purchased by Stenton (a house museum) for the hammer price of $18,000.  You can also visit the website of James Wm. Lowry to see a similar chair of slightly later date with straight but molded legs.

R.J.Fendorf
Antiques 
in the Georgian Village
1714 West 45th Street
Kansas City, MO 64111
913.302.3206
jfendorf@yahoo.com