FP 92
A carved mahogany upholstered single chair on four cabriole legs
George II, circa 1730
Purchased before 1911 from Millar (probably Cecil Millar) for £13.13.0
The presence of cabriole legs at both the front and back of this chair and the oil gilded carved detail on all four cabriole legs are good indications of its quality, as is the dense, heavy timber of which it is made. A very similar chair is illustrated in the Dictionary of English Furniture, (1954), vol. I, p. 261, fig. 108. This latter chair may retain its original needlework of a kind which the Frederick Parker chair might well also originally have had. The current, modern covering, and the upholstery which is too thick and square for the elegant 'compass' seat, have spoiled something of the chair's intended balance. When it was purchased it had a Morocco leather (i.e. goat skin) covering. It is also possible that it might originally have had a drop-in seat.
The chair illustrates another of furniture history's myths and legends: that the purpose of the semi-circular indent at the top of the back was to allow room for a gentleman's wig. This is incorrect: the indent would originally have housed a carved decorative detail. Another example, a fine set of parcel (partly) gilt walnut chairs dating from about 1730 at Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire, retain such an embellishment: they bear the arms and coronet of Edward, 3rd Lord Leigh. These are illustrated in Geoffrey Beard's Upholsterers and Interior Furnishing in England 1530-1840, p. 184, fig. 180. The loss of this carved detail may have occurred by accident or design during subsequent re-upholstery, as it was necessary to fit it separately after the stuff-over upholstery of the back was completed. The romance of furniture history - including the use of fanciful names, such as 'rapier' chests or 'cockfighting' chairs, to explain the function of articles - can be very misleading as it may obscure the truth. Nevertheless, it is itself now a part of the evolution of the study of furniture history and as such it should be recorded as an aid to future research.
A link has been suggested between this chair and a group of chairs whose provenance centres on Scotland, which have similar indents for carved coats of arms as well as certain other idiosyncrasies in construction and distinctive needlework covers. One of these chairs is at the Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool.