24 May 2012
12:00 BST
Chester
The Beedham Collection: Selected Oak Furniture & Works of Art 1450 - 1750
Back to auction 20460
The Beedham Collection: Selected Oak Furniture & Works of Art 1450 - 1750
Back to auction 20460
A rare and unusually large Charles II ash panel back armchair
South-West Yorkshire/East Lancashire, circa 1660-1680
The back with a narrow panel over a larger panel, each linear-carved with a profusion of scrolling flora, the rail between the two panels channel-moulded and chevron-inlaid, the arched double scroll-edged cresting carved with conforming floral motifs, above scroll-carved and cross-hatched ears, the downswept scroll-ended open arms on baluster-turned front supports, the oak boarded seat again supported on a conforming carved front rail, raised on four baluster-turned legs, joined by rectangular-section stretchers, 59cm wide x 54cm deep x 140cm high, (23" wide x 21" deep x 55" high)
The back with a narrow panel over a larger panel, each linear-carved with a profusion of scrolling flora, the rail between the two panels channel-moulded and chevron-inlaid, the arched double scroll-edged cresting carved with conforming floral motifs, above scroll-carved and cross-hatched ears, the downswept scroll-ended open arms on baluster-turned front supports, the oak boarded seat again supported on a conforming carved front rail, raised on four baluster-turned legs, joined by rectangular-section stretchers, 59cm wide x 54cm deep x 140cm high, (23" wide x 21" deep x 55" high)
Sold for
£12,500
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance: Godolphin House, Cornwall. Now a National Trust property, in the 17th century Godolphin was considered to be the most fashionable house in Cornwall.
The general form of this chair is predominantly characteristic of Yorkshire examples, however, the distinctive linear carving exhibited here is attributed to the area around Burnley, hence the Yorkshire/Lancashire regional attribution. See V. Chinnery, Oak Furniture: The British Tradition (1993), p. 475, figs. 4:128 and 129.
One striking feature of this armchair is its unusual height. It is approximately 20 - 30cm taller than a typical Yorkshire double panel-back armchair. Other rare features include: the turned back legs, rather than a traditional continuation of the rectangular-shaped rear uprights; the rear seat-rail spandrels, located where the back uprights change from a block to a turning; the carved front seat rail, with follows the design of the back carving rather than a typical plain or channel-moulded rail; and the carved rear uprights which are often simply moulded.
Category: Furniture / Oak Furniture
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