In this next instalment in our series on the history of chairs we’re going to pick up with English chairs.
Although much English furniture comes from French and Italian influence, the early forms of English chairs owe very little to influences outside of England itself. This is especially true towards the end of the Tudor period. It was during this time that the French began to take their chair designs from the English.
The squat style chairs with heavy backs that were carved like a piece of paneling gave way to taller, more slender and elegant chairs. The framework of these chairs were less carved and new directions were taken as far as how these chairs were ornamented. Cabinet makers of the Restoration began to take advantage of the opportunities given to them to design these new chairs. Chairs began to take on an elaborate construction with graceful semicircular ornaments that connected all four legs by a vase shaped knob in the center. The arms and legs of the chairs of this period were scrolled with the splats of the back containing a rich arrangement of spirals and scrolls. (more…)