A GEORGE III MAHOGANY HALL CHAIR

This chair belongs to a very small group of hall chairs which stand out for their sculptural qualities. The juxtaposition of traditional construction and the newly emerging rococo style of the 1760s gave the chair’s unknown creator a challenge which he has skilfully overcome. Timber was not cut thickly enough at the time to allow the beautiful undulations of the chair back to be carved from one piece, so instead several pieces had to be combined. The resulting lamination lines in the back of the chair are clearly visible, showing how the maker was pushing the boundaries of traditional chair design and experimenting with new ideas. The saw mills without doubt soon adjusted to this new demand for thicker planks of mahogany.
Today the chair has acquired a beautiful and rich patina which adds depth to the organic shapes.

Literature: Illustrated:
Nicholas Goodison and Robin Kern, Hotspur – Eighty Years of Antiques Dealing, 2004, p. 153.