Antique Victorian Elm Windsor Armchair with Pierced Wheel Back Splat, c.1890

Height: 1060 mm
Seat height: 450 mm
Width: 577 mm
Depth: 482 mm
Reference: 2270
Date: Circa 1890

Description

A wonderfully characterful late Victorian elm Windsor armchair, circa 1890, distinguished by its tall hooped back, finely turned spindles and particularly decorative pierced wheel-back central splat.

This is a handsome example of the English vernacular Windsor tradition, retaining the wonderfully sculptural quality that makes these chairs so appealing as both functional furniture and decorative country-house pieces. The chair has a tall, generously curved continuous hoop enclosing an arrangement of slender turned spindles around a broad central shaped splat. The splat is particularly attractive, incorporating a pierced wheel or sunburst motif, together with further geometric piercings above and below.

The shaped arm supports rise naturally from the seat and sweep outward into substantial curved armrests, producing the pleasing organic silhouette associated with traditional Windsor chair making. Beneath is a generously proportioned solid saddle-type seat with a softly shaped front edge and considerable surface character.

The understructure is equally attractive. Four turned and splayed legs are joined by a traditional H-form stretcher arrangement, providing both strength and the unmistakable profile of a late 19th-century country Windsor. The front legs have attractive ring and baluster turning, while the timber throughout has acquired a deep brown colour with lighter areas of wear where generations of use have softened the original surface.

Of particular interest is the stamped “FH” mark visible to the rear seat edge. I would certainly mention this in the catalogue as a maker’s or craftsman’s stamp, but without documentary evidence I would avoid attributing it to a particular workshop. It is nevertheless a useful and appealing piece of provenance within the chair itself.

The chair displays exactly the sort of wear desirable in genuine vernacular furniture: softened edges, variations in colour, old scratches, rubbing to the legs and arms and a pleasingly dry, naturally aged surface. Importantly, it has not been over-restored into uniformity, allowing its construction and considerable age to remain readily apparent.

With its 106 cm tall back, this is an unusually imposing Windsor and would make an excellent fireside, desk, hall or occasional armchair. It would sit particularly well within a farmhouse or country-house interior, but its strong graphic outline would work equally successfully as a statement chair in a more contemporary setting.

Condition

Good antique condition with extensive surface wear and patination consistent with age and use. There are old knocks, scratches, rubbing, colour variation and wear particularly around the arms, seat, legs and stretchers. The chair retains a wonderfully authentic country-furniture appearance. Please refer to the photographs for the fullest representation of condition.