A George III comb back Windsor armchair, possibly Carmarthenshire, circa 1780 and earlier
A George III comb back Windsor armchair, possibly Carmarthenshire, circa 1780 and earlier
Predominantly ash, with 17th century elm seat, oak splat and sycamore cresting.
The slender cut splat with two pierced hearts, flanked by long spindles, topped by an unusual eared cresting, with a decorative double 'scallop' carved above the splat, the arm bow with slightly rounded ends and connected to the seat with ten further spindles, the thick saddle seat with pronounced lip above a deep chamfered under edge, and linear incised upper edge, on unusual rectangular part silhouette-baluster front legs, with chamfered show edges, and joined by an elliptical H-form stretcher to the hand-facetted and splayed rear legs, all legs mortice and wedged through the seat.
The exceptional seat is older than the rest of the chair. It is very likely that it was simply re-used in the 18th century for whatever reason. It is unusual for any Windsor chair not to have turned or facetted legs which are essentially circular in section. In this instance the front legs are formed from sectional wood and hand-shaved with a drawknife.
Literature: See J. Brown, 'Welsh Stick Chairs' (1990), p. 26, pl. 17, for a chair with a scalloped lower edge to the cresting rail as found to the centre of this chair's cresting.
Dimensions:
, p. 26, pl. 17, for a chair with a scalloped lower edge to the cresting rail as found to the centre of this chair's cresting.){kind=link}